Cement, Energy and Environment

• 3. Naina Lal Kidwai, Executive Director & Country Head- HSBC and Former President– FICCI; 4. Ranganath N K, Managing Director- Grundfos Pumps India; 5. Jorgen Bjelskou, Group Public Affairs Director- Grundfos; 6. Dr Sunita Narain, Director General- Centre for Science and Environment (CSE); 7. Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat Division- TERI; 8. Beroz Gazdar, Head Sustainability- Mahindra and Mahindra; 9. Krishan Dhawan, Chief Executive Officer– Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation; 10. Dr Prem Jain, Chairman- IGBC- Cll; 11. Sam it Aich, Executive Director- Greenpeace, 12. Sri.Raghupathi, Director Cll- Hyderabad, participated in the event. Environmental Protection & Resource Management Environment Improvement EXPERTS WITHOUT EXPERTISE National Green Tribunal disapproves appointment of people without relevant experience to expert appraisal committees, asks environment ministry to revise its selection criteria Srestha Banerjee THE NATIONAL Green Tribunal has said that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change should appoint only those people as chairpersons and members of expert appraisal committees who have "expertise and experience" in environment-related issues. In a judgement delivered on July 17, the court also said that the expertise of chairpersons should be in the area with which the committee is concerned. Expert appraisal committees (EAC) exist at the Union as well as state levels (state expert appraisal committee or SEAC) to advise the government on environmental clearance of development projects. The directions issued by the Justice Swantanter Kumar-headed principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) are applicable to committees at both the levels. The role of EAC is integral to the process of granting environmental clearance to development projects. According to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, evaluation of proposals involves four steps : screening , scoping, public hearing and appraisal. EAC/SEAC are involved in various capacities in all the stages except for public hearing. The selection criteria fo~ EAC chairpersons are also given in th notification. "The [NGT] directions follow a clos: reading of the EIA Notification, 2006, where the 18 (