Source: IE

Why in News?

The Ministry of Environment replaced an ad hoc expert panel which assisted the Supreme Court on forest and environment related matters, with a new Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

• It is a step taken after the promulgation of Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023.

Background

• In May 2023, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked the Union Government to table a draft before SC adhering to the to make the committee a permanent statutory body.
  • The SC called the step of formulating CEC as a permanent statutory body “a step in the interest of stakeholders”.
• In August 2023, the SC reviewed the draft presented by the ministry and allowed the Government to constitute CEC as a permanent body.
• The Union Government released a notification of 5^th September 2023 according to which new members of CEC will be appointed and th.
  • Before the release of the notification, the committee was accountable to report before the SC.
• The notification clarifies that in case any suggestion or recommendation of the CEC is not acceptable to the State or Central Government, the Government shall give reasons in writing for not accepting the same and such decision of the Central Government shall be final.

History of CEC

• The establishment of the CEC can be traced from the landmark case of N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India & Ors (1997).
  • This case, initiated in 1995, pertained to the conservation and protection of the , one of India's ecologically fragile regions.
• The SC recognizing the need for a specialized body to assist in the adjudication of complex environmental matters, constituted the CEC in 2002.
  • The committee was reconstituted in the year 2008.

Constitution of New CEC

• Composition:
  • A Chairperson, Secretary, and 3 Expert members will constitute the committee.
  • The previous committee also included the members from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) whereas this newly structured committee completely removes the presence of NGO members.
• Qualification:
  • The Chairperson must have 25 years of experience in environmental, forestry, or wildlife fields or substantial administrative exercise.
    • His tenure will be 3 years.
  • The Secretary must have 12 years of experience in environmental, forestry, or wildlife matters and must hold a rank no less than a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) or director in the G
  • The , one each from the environmental, forestry, or wildlife matters must have experience of not less than  .

Major Contributions of CEC

• It gave detailed report about illegal mining in Goa in year 2012
• It presented a report in 2014 criticizing the Odisha Government over the production of iron ore and manganese without environment clearance or beyond the period of environment clearance in the mining leases in the state.
• It reported the matter filed before it by the Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation and others regarding alleged illegal diversion of forest lands for non-forest uses in the region in Karnataka.
• It rejected the doubling of railway tracks from Castle Rock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa, which was accepted by SC in May 2023.