Experts flag concerns over SC-appointed Aravalli panel
Scientists, senior environmental and policy experts, and other stakeholders from across India have written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), raising questions over the composition of the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered expert committee tasked with reviewing the Centre's report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range.
The letters, written on Thursday and Friday, seek changes to the committee's composition, citing concerns about its independence.
The committee, constituted under the Supreme Court's May 25 order, is headed by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, and has been directed to submit its report by August 31.
The other members of the panel are Dr Subhash Ashutosh, former director general of the Forest Survey of India; Dr Rajendra Kumar Sharma, former director of the Geological Survey of India; Brij Mohan Singh Rathore, former joint secretary in the Environment Ministry; and Professor Ashok K Bhatnagar, former head of the Department of Botany at Delhi University.
The court also appointed Professor Jagdish Krishnaswamy of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, and Professor Laxmikant Sharma of the Central University of Haryana as special invitees whom the chairperson may associate with the committee's work, if required.
The Environment Ministry was directed to nominate an officer of the rank of director to serve as the panel's member secretary.
In one of the letters, environmentalist and social scientist, Dr Ravi Chopra, expressed doubts about the panel's ability to provide independent written opinions on the disputed issues, noting that almost all its members are serving or retired Government officials.
