Amid the controversy over the Supreme Court first accepting the Union government’s 100-metre elevation formula for a uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills and then staying its earlier decision, multiple social media influencers have come forward reporting that they had been approached by agencies for paid collaborations to create content that favoured the Supreme Court’s initial ruling, aiming to influence public perception.<\/p>\n
Some have also claimed that the agencies threatened them when they refused.<\/p>\n
Looking into the issue of allowing mining in the Aravalli Hills and Range, the SC had in May 2024 formed a committee under the Union environment secretary to come up with a uniform definition of the Aravalli for the four Aravalli states \u2014 Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. On October 13, 2025, the committee proposed that \u201cany landform located in the Aravalli districts, having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief” would be designated as “Aravalli Hills”, and \u201cAravalli Range\u201d will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 meters of each other.<\/p>\n
On November 20, the apex court accepted the proposal triggering concerns among environmentalists about the ecology of the hills. Those criticizing the 100-metre formula argued that redefining the Aravalli Hills based on height could jeopardize the low, scrub-covered hills that were ecologically critical. The Indian Express noted<\/a>, “If all 1,18,575 Aravalli hills are considered, over 99 per cent will not make the 100-metre cut, according to the FSI\u2019s internal assessment. The FSI (Forest Survey of India) conveyed its concerns to the ministry, which decided to go ahead with the 100-metre definition anyway.”<\/p>\n People took to the streets protesting against the Supreme Court judgment, while social media was flooded with videos questioning the relevance of the 100-metre criterion.\u00a0It is interesting to note that in 2010, the Supreme Court itself had rejected the same formula.<\/p>\n Amid widespread criticism and mass outrage, <\/span>the Supreme Court took suo-moto cognizance of the case and a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant on December 29 stayed the implementation of its earlier direction. It also proposed the formation of a high-powered expert committee with subject experts to resolve all ambiguities.<\/p>\n Amid the whole debate, Alt News discovered that several social media influencers reported being approached by agencies to create paid content in support of the November 20 Supreme Court judgment, which accepted the government stand on the Aravalli.<\/span><\/p>\n Instagram creator Anmol Saxena, popularly known as Jazbati Saxena, who has close to 2 lakh followers on the platform, shared a video on December 24, 2025<\/a>, alleging that he had been approached by a public relations agency with an offer to create content related to the Aravalli Hills.<\/span><\/p>\nOffers for Paid Promotion to ‘Shift Public Perception’\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n