A video of people protesting against land acquisition for a coal mine in Chhattisgarh is being falsely shared as visuals of the protests related to Aravalli
Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s 20 November 2025 decision accepting a new definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, environmental groups and citizens have been strongly protesting the move. In this context, a video showing a clash between police and protesters in a hilly area—where some people are seen carrying sticks and pelting stones, and the police are firing tear gas shells—is being shared (here, here, here) with the claim that government officials had come to cut the Aravalli hills and were met with strong resistance from residents.
Claim: The video shows a clash between residents and government officials during a protest over the Aravalli Hills.
Fact: This video is from the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, where locals were protesting against land acquisition for a coal mine. This does not show protests calling for the protection of the Aravalli hills. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led to an ABP News report dated 3 December 2025, titled “Chhattisgarh Breaking: Villagers clash with police in Ambikapur, 40 policemen injured in stone pelting.”
Further research led us to multiple media reports (here, here, here) that were published about the same incident. The reports stated that tension erupted in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district after villagers staged a violent protest against the proposed expansion of the Amera coal mine in Lakhanpur block. They alleged that the project was being extended without proper land acquisition or their consent, threatening their farmland, water sources, and homes. During the protest, some villagers armed with sticks and other objects pelted stones at the police, and the police responded with lathi charges and tear gas shells, leading to chaos.
While protests calling for the protection of the Aravalli hills have been ongoing (here, here), the viral video is unrelated to the Aravalli issue.
To sum up, a video of people protesting against land acquisition for a coal mine in Chhattisgarh is being falsely shared as footage of the Aravalli dispute.