Aravalli hills high, don't knock 'em

The Supreme Court's stay on Haryana's proposed Aravalli Safari Park project offers a chance for India to rethink what development should mean in an eco-fragile region. This week, the apex court sought the state's response to allegations that the project - conceived in 2023 and spread across 2,500 acres in Nuh and Gurugram - would bring irreversible damage to the Aravalli range. It has rightly directed that no work begins until further orders.

The proposed safari - with hotels, roads, research blocks, restaurants, etc - threatens to fragment one of India's oldest mountain systems, home to leopards, hyenas, nilgais and other wildlife. Fencing off parts of the forest to create 'zones' for tourism can choke wildlife corridors, forcing animals into shrinking patches or human settlements. Haryana's argument that the safari will 'conserve biodiversity' and bring in revenue ignores the obvious: nature doesn't thrive on construction contracts. What the Aravallis need is strict protection, not concrete dressed up as eco-tourism. The state should focus on recharging groundwater, curbing illegal mining and restoring native vegetation, goals that would truly align conservation with long-term economic health.

Environmental policy must not be reduced to a Trumpian-style bargaining game where big proposals are floated only to be scaled down through 'compromise'. Protection of ecosystems isn't about how many acres can be negotiated away, but about aligning what's on paper with what happens on ground. Real protection means shutting the backdoor to exceptions and loopholes that allow exploitation in the name of eco-tourism. The court's pause offers a chance for Haryana - and India - to move from reactive firefighting to genuine environmental stewardship.