Experts say no independent member in SC-appointed environment panel

The Constitutional Conduct Group, a group of former civil servants who have served in various capacities in the central and state governments, have written to the Supreme Court to point out that the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee on environmental matters has been functioning without any independent members.

- Jayashree Nandi

The outcome of a petition on the Forest Conservation Amendment Act 2023 “may possibly be compromised considering the conflict of interest” of the CEC, the group has claimed in a letter to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. “In 2023, since Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seemingly had complete autonomy in choosing the members of the CEC, it nominated in all the four posts of members, four former government officers, three of whom are retired Indian Forest Service officers and one, a retired scientist, who had also worked for many years until his retirement in the MoEFCC. There are no independent experts.”