Supreme Court reconstitutes expert committee for Delhi-Dehradun Corridor project

The Supreme Court reconstituted the expert committee that would be looking into measures to ensure that the construction of the Delhi-Dehradun expressway does not impact the environment. The independent 12-member expert committee was formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to be headed by Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand. However, the counsel for the NGO Citizens for Green Doon had suggested that expert members on subjects concerning the environment should be included in the committee. The central government agreed to the suggestion.

The Director-General of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will be the Chairperson of the reconstituted Committee. Chandra Prakash Goyal is currently appointed as the Director General of Forests and Special Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Apart from the new Chairperson, the Supreme Court has also included Anil Prakash Joshi (founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation) and Vijay Dhamsana (environmentalist) as additional members in the committee.