Scientists, environmentalists, policy experts raise concerns over Supreme Court-appointed panel on Aravallis

Prominent scientists, conservation scientists, and environmental policy experts have written to the Chief Justice of India raising concerns about the composi...

What Happened

Prominent scientists, conservation scientists, and environmental policy experts have written to the Chief Justice of India raising concerns about the composition of a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee tasked with examining the protection of the Aravalli range.
The committee was constituted pursuant to a Supreme Court order dated May 25, 2026, arising from suo motu proceedings that began on December 29, 2025, concerning the definition and protection of Aravalli forests.
Critics argue the panel does not meet the standard of a truly independent High Powered Expert Committee — specifically that its chairperson and member secretary are serving officers of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) or affiliated institutions, potentially compromising independence.
Experts have flagged the panel's missing representation of ecologists, hydrologists, wildlife specialists, and practitioners of traditional ecological knowledge.
A Forest Survey of India (FSI) report from September 2025, which identified 63 Aravalli districts needing protection and highlighted low-lying hills as critical barriers against desertification, was allegedly not reflected in the Ministry's affidavit — creating discrepancies that the expert panel must now navigate.
Two independent academic members — from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, and the Indian Institute of Sciences — have been appointed by the Court, but civil society groups say this is insufficient to ensure genuine independence.
The Supreme Court has directed that the panel must consult all relevant stakeholders, including local communities, before submitting its report.

Static Topic Bridges

The Aravalli Range: Geology, Geography, and Ecological Role

The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest fold mountain systems in the world, with geological origins dating to the Proterozoic Era — estimated between 1.5 billion and 3.2 billion years ago. Stretching approximately 700–800 kilometres across Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat, the range forms a critical ecological divide: the Thar Desert lies to its west, and the Malwa Plateau to its east. The Aravallis are the source of rivers including the Banas, Luni, Sakhi, and Sabarmati, and function as a major groundwater recharge zone for northwestern India.

The Aravallis are composed of diverse rock types including granite, marble, phyllite, and schist.
They span four states: Rajasthan (largest extent), Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat.
The range acts as an ecological barrier preventing eastward advance of the Thar Desert — a function of high geopolitical significance given India's growing desertification concerns.
The FSI September 2025 report identified 63 Aravalli districts as ecologically significant, compared to the ministry's reference to only 37 — the discrepancy is at the heart of current judicial proceedings.

Connection to this news: The definition of what constitutes "Aravalli" — whether restricted to steep ridges or including low-lying hills and foothill ecosystems — determines the legal scope of protection and is precisely what the Supreme Court panel is tasked with resolving.

Supreme Court's Role in Environmental Protection: Article 21 and Public Trust Doctrine

The Supreme Court of India has emerged as a key actor in environmental governance through creative constitutional interpretation. The right to a clean and healthy environment has been read into Article 21 (Right to Life) by a series of landmark judgments. Alongside, the Court has adopted the Public Trust Doctrine — the principle that natural resources such as forests, rivers, and air are held in trust by the State for present and future generations and cannot be alienated for private commercial gain.

Article 21 of the Constitution: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law" — judicially expanded to include the right to a healthy environment.
M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997): Landmark case that formally introduced the Public Trust Doctrine in Indian environmental jurisprudence, striking down encroachment on the Beas River.
T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India (1995–ongoing): The Court exercised continuing mandamus to oversee forest conservation across the country over multiple decades — a model of sustained judicial environmental oversight.
The Precautionary Principle and Polluter Pays Principle were also introduced into Indian law through MC Mehta cases.

Connection to this news: The Aravalli case follows this same tradition — the Supreme Court initiating suo motu proceedings to protect an ecologically fragile zone, constituting an expert committee, and now directing stakeholder consultations. The independence of the expert panel is critical precisely because judicial decisions here will be informed by its findings.

Forest Classification and Protection Laws

India's forest governance rests on three primary legal instruments: the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (which defines reserved forests, protected forests, and village forests), the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (which requires central government approval for any diversion of forest land to non-forest use), and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (which recognises community forest rights). The Aravalli controversy also touches on the definition of "forest" itself — the Supreme Court's 1996 Godavarman judgment held that "forest" must be understood in its dictionary sense, encompassing all land recorded as forest irrespective of ownership.

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980: No state government can authorise diversion of forest land without prior approval of the Central Government.
The Godavarman judgment (1996) broadened the definition of "forest" to include all areas recorded as forest in any government record.
Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution provide additional layers of protection in tribal forest regions.
Mining in the Aravallis has been a persistent flashpoint — the Supreme Court has at various times halted mining operations in Rajasthan and Haryana citing ecological damage.

Connection to this news: The legal status of Aravalli land — whether it qualifies as "forest" under the Godavarman definition and is thus protected under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — depends critically on the expert committee's findings on the geographic extent of the range. This is why the committee's independence and expertise composition are legally consequential, not merely procedural.

Judicial Mechanisms: Expert Committees and Continuing Mandamus

When technical matters exceed the Court's own domain knowledge, the Supreme Court commonly appoints expert committees. These committees carry significant authority — their findings shape judicial orders with binding force. The legitimacy and independence of such committees is therefore a structural safeguard in the Indian environmental governance architecture. The tool of "continuing mandamus" — where the Court retains a case and issues successive directions over years — has been used in forest, river, and pollution cases to sustain executive accountability.

Continuing mandamus was pioneered in India through the Godavarman forest case, where the Supreme Court monitored forest governance for over two decades.
Expert committees appointed by Courts enjoy quasi-judicial status; their composition can be challenged by affected parties.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), established under the NGT Act, 2010, is a statutory body for environmental adjudication — distinct from the Supreme Court's suo motu jurisdiction.

Connection to this news: The civil society demands for reconstitution of the Aravalli panel are rooted in the principle that expert committee credibility is essential for the Court's own institutional authority — if the panel is perceived as captured by the executive, the judicial oversight mechanism itself is weakened.

Key Facts & Data

Aravalli Range: approximately 700–800 km long; spans Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat.
Age: one of the world's oldest fold mountain systems, Proterozoic era (1.5–3.2 billion years old).
FSI report (September 2025) identified 63 Aravalli districts as ecologically significant; ministry affidavit cited only 37 — a discrepancy at the heart of the SC case.
SC suo motu proceedings on Aravalli definition commenced December 29, 2025.
SC order constituting the expert committee: May 25, 2026.
Article 21 of the Constitution: judicially expanded to include right to clean environment.
Public Trust Doctrine introduced in India: M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, 1997.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980: central approval mandatory for any diversion of forest land.