MoEFCC has no objection to the CEC’s proposed 10-member high-powered committee to define the Aravalli hills and ranges uniformly and endorses the suggested experts from FSI, GSI, Survey of India, and academia.
"The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee," the affidavit said; panel to be chaired by ICFRE DG Kanchan Devi.
Environment Ministry Supports 10-Member Expert Panel for Uniform Aravalli Hills Definition
Supreme Court paused earlier mining halt and definition order to resolve ambiguities and ensure only lawful mining proceeds after expert recommendations.
Summary
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has informed the Supreme Court that it has no objection to the Central Empowered Committee's (CEC) recommendation to form a 10-member high-powered expert committee tasked with developing a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges.
In its affidavit submitted to the apex court, the ministry has approved the proposed panel members, who include serving and retired officials from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI), and Survey of India, as well as domain experts and academicians.
"The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said.
The committee is proposed to be chaired by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE), a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre with more than 30 years of experience in forestry, wildlife, policy, and institutional leadership.
The MoEFCC emphasised in the affidavit that defining the Aravalli Hills and Ranges requires thorough, evidence-based analysis and stakeholder consultations by specialists in relevant disciplines.
The CEC's report to the Supreme Court highlighted the expertise of the nominated members, which also include former FSI Director General Subhash Ashutosh, ex-GSI Director Rajendra Kumar Sharma, climate-energy expert Tejal Kanitkar, life sciences researcher Jaya Parkash Yadav, geographer Tejbir Singh Rana, former Additional Surveyor General SV Singh, ex-Gujarat PCCF CN Pandey, former Nagaland PCCF Dharmendra Prakash, author RN Mishra, and conservationist Vijay Dhasmana.
On February 26, the Supreme Court had directed the environment ministry and other parties to recommend names of domain experts for the committee, while stressing that only lawful mining would be permitted in the area.
Earlier, on December 29, the court had noted public concerns regarding the new Aravalli definition, kept its November 20 order in abeyance, and halted all mining operations. It observed the need to clear "critical ambiguities," particularly around criteria such as 100-metre elevation and 500-metre gaps between hills, which could exclude large parts of the range from environmental safeguards.
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