SC’s Aravalli panel seeks extension for final report

The Supreme Court-appointed Aravalli High-Powered Committee (HPC) has asked the apex court to extend the deadline for submission of its final report by six months, saying it needs more time for a "comprehensive and defensible" assessment of the Aravalli range.

In its compliance report submitted on August 31, the committee has said it needs to bring together spatial, ecological, geological, hydrological, socio-economic, and stakeholder evidence before arriving at its conclusions regarding the Aravallis.

The committee, constituted through an order dated May 25, has been conducting an independent review of the Centre's report on the definition and delineation of the Aravallis. The deadline for the panel's final report was August 31. "The committee has… reached the view that additional time is necessary to complete the scientific process of geospatial assessment, sensitivity analysis, expert examination, field and stakeholder validation, and synthesis required for a comprehensive and defensible report," said the panel in its compliance report.

It has urged the top court to extend the deadline for submission of the final report to February 28, 2027.

In its compliance report, the panel says the issues regarding Aravallis extend beyond technical delineation and cannot be properly addressed through a "single terrain-based criterion or a single source of evidence".

That is why an examination "of the wider geological, geomorphological, hydrological, biogeographical, ecological, biodiversity, mineral-resource and socio-economic dimensions of the Aravalli" is required.

This proposed method -- called the Aravalli Ecosystem Landscape (AEL) framework -- could help identify areas with differing socio-ecological characteristics and inform differentiated approaches to conservation and management, the panel has said.

The framework could also "assess the adequacy of the existing regulatory framework in addressing such areas".

The committee has suggested that the framework be subject to review and feedback by domain experts and concerned stakeholders.

Notably, the panel conducted its field visits for first-hand assessment of the Aravallis between August 6 and August 11, during which public hearings also took place.

As of August 26, the panel had also received approximately 680 representations, through both electronic and physical submissions, according to its compliance report.