River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects: Plea challenges appointment of expert panel

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered a notice to the Union government in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the selection of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects. The PIL was filed by the United Conservation Movement Charitable Welfare Trust, Bengaluru.

The petitioner has challenged the appointment of K Gopakumar of IISc Bengaluru as chairman, and B K Panigrahi, R V Uday Kumar, Chandrahas Deshpande and Balraj Joshi as members of EAC.

The petition has sought the quashing of the appointment through the notification dated July 13, 2020. The petition contended that the appointments do not meet the statutory qualifications as prescribed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006.

The petition contended that the Union government has unilaterally selected the chairman and members of EAC without there being any public notice and selection or a screening procedure. The petition has also challenged the creation of a new member called a 'non-official' member.

The petition said that bodies such as EAC, constituted under Section 3 (3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, are the first line of defence for the protection and improvement of the environment.

“It is of utmost importance that those selected to be part of these bodies are experts and are free from any conflict of interest and are unbiased and independent,” the petition said.

The petition has also prayed for directions to set guidelines for making the selection to the screening, scoping and appraisal committees, both at the central and state level, under the EIA notification.