Centre Endorses Expert Panel to Redefine Aravalli Range; Kanchan Devi to Lead

• Union Environment Ministry (MoEFCC) has approved a 10-member expert committee to define the Aravalli hills and ranges.
• The high-powered panel will be led by Kanchan Devi, Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
• Members include in-service and retired bureaucrats from FSI, GSI, Survey of India, and academicians.
• The Supreme Court had sought expert names to resolve "critical ambiguities" in the Aravalli definition.
• The panel aims to address concerns that current criteria might strip environmental protection from significant portions of the range.