Aravalli row: Supreme Court asks expert committee to consult stakeholders

Sets out parameters for examining crucial issues

- Ekamjit Singh Brar

The Supreme Court has asked a new expert committee set up by it to consult stakeholders to resolve critical ambiguities and to provide definitive guidance on issues relating to definition of Aravalli Hills.

A three-judge special vacation bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant - which on Monday ordered to keep in abeyance its November 20 order that was based on a previous committee's recommendations - also set out parameters for the new panel to approach these issues.

It said that prior to the implementation of the committee's report, or the execution of the directions contained in its November 20 judgment, "a fair, impartial, independent expert opinion must be obtained and considered, after associating all requisite stakeholders".

It asked the panel to examine if the definition of 'Aravalli Hills and Ranges', restricted exclusively to the 500-meter area between two or more Aravalli Hills, cre-