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Supreme Court panel on forest areas to stay

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Centre’s plea to scrap the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) constituted by it to monitor the implementation of the apex court orders relating to carrying out projects in forest areas.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S.H. Kapadia, made it clear to Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati that “the CEC will continue until further orders and all facilities and infrastructure extended to it will continue.” The Bench said CEC would continue to exercise the powers conferred on it by the September 17, 2002 notification by which the CEC was constituted.

Senior counsel and amicus curiae, Harish Salve, who is assisting the court, had filed an application seeking extension of the term of the CEC which was appointed for a five-year tenure in 2002.

In its reply, the Centre said it “is not agreeable to the extension of the CEC since it was never meant to be an agency appointed under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act.” It said that the intention of the apex court when it appointed the CEC in 2002 was an ad hoc arrangement till an authority was created under Section 3 (3) of the Act. When Mr. Salve took exception to the Centre’s stand, Mr. Vahanvati said: “I am not saying that there should not be any committee. The CEC can be continued on court orders but not under the provisions of the Act. They are passing even administrative orders.”

The Bench told Mr. Vahanvati: “We feel that for effective implementation of our orders the CEC should continue. If the system has worked well for five years what is the difficulty in its continuance. You are anticipating a problem which is not there. Tell us the grey area and come out concrete suggestions for modification, we will consider.”

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