In December 2025, as protests grew over a new legal definition of the Aravalli hills, a video of a large rally was shared as a "Save Aravalli" protest. It is false: the footage shows villagers in Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh, protesting a cement company's limestone quarry project.
Claim: The video shows a rally of the Save Aravalli movement.
Said by: Social media posts.
What the record shows: The rally took place in Chhuikhadan, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district, Chhattisgarh, around 6 to 7 December 2025, against Shree Cement Limited's limestone quarry project. Factly
Where the claim came from
On 20 November 2025 the Supreme Court accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills recommended by an Environment Ministry committee. Under it, an "Aravalli Hill" is a landform rising 100 metres or more above local relief. LiveLaw Activists said this would strip legal protection from most of the range.
Protests spread under #SaveAravalli, and the Youth Congress ran an "Aravalli Satyagraha Yatra". The Week In this period a video of a large rally circulated as footage of a Save Aravalli protest. Factly did not name the accounts that shared it or report its reach. Factly
What the evidence shows
Documented A reverse image search on keyframes led Factly to an Instagram post of 7 December 2025 describing a protest in Khairagarh against Shree Cement. Keyword searches found video news reports from 6 and 7 December 2025 showing the same footage. Factly
News reports place the rally in Chhuikhadan village. Thousands of people from about 40 villages took part, protesting "Shree Cement Limited's limestone quarry project". They gave the Sub-Divisional Magistrate a memorandum asking for a public hearing set for 11 December 2025 to be suspended, and the hearing was later postponed. Factly
Nothing in the footage relates to the Aravalli range or the hill definition. Factly found the video "old and unrelated to the Aravalli controversy". Factly
Context
The Aravalli protests were real and had an effect. On 29 December 2025 the Supreme Court put its own November ruling in abeyance, and an expert committee formed in 2026 must report by 30 November 2026. ETV Bharat The Chhattisgarh villagers' protest was also real, just about a different project. See our Aravalli and Delhi air protests page for the full record.
Questions people ask
Where was the viral "Save Aravalli" video filmed?
In Chhuikhadan, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district, Chhattisgarh, at a December 2025 protest against a Shree Cement limestone quarry.
Why are people protesting to save the Aravallis?
Over a November 2025 definition that counts only landforms 100 metres above local relief as Aravalli hills. Critics say most of the range would lose protection.
Did the Supreme Court change the Aravalli ruling?
On 29 December 2025 it kept its November order in abeyance pending further review.
