EnvironmentThursday, 11 June 2026·The Hindu - Environment
Supreme Court sets up expert panel to review Aravalli definition and protection criteria
The Supreme Court formed a high-powered committee to independently review the Centre’s Aravalli definition report and submit findings by August 31, 2026.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In June 2026, the Supreme Court constituted a high-powered committee headed by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), to re-examine the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range and submit a report by August 31, 2026.
Key specifics
- The Court had stayed an October 2025 report on December 29, 2025, after it was prepared by a committee chaired by the Secretary of the MoEFCC.
- The new committee is chaired ex-officio by Kanchan Devi, a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer.
- Members include Dr. Subhash Ashutosh, Dr. Rajendra Kumar Sharma, Brij Mohan Singh Rathore and Prof. Ashok K. Bhatnagar.
- Special invitees named by the Court are Prof. Jagdish Krishnaswamy of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, and Prof. Laxmikant Sharma of the Central University of Haryana.
- The Court flagged the 500-metre threshold and the figure of 1,048 hills out of Rajasthan’s 12,081 hills as issues needing scientific review.
Exam lens
Question type: Environment and judicial review, protected hill ranges, expert committees, ecological thresholds; TNPSC may ask the chairperson, deadline, and the 500-metre criterion linked to the Aravalli case.