Notification for constitution of Central Empowered Committee

5716 GI/202 3 (1) रजिस्ट्री सं. डी.एल.- 33004/99 REGD. No . D. L. -33004/99 EXTRAORDINARY PART II —Section 3 —Sub-section ( ii) PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 3784] NEW DELHI , TUES DAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2023/ BHADRA 14, 1945 CG-DL-E-05092023-248555 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 5th September , 2023 S.O. 3946(E).— In exercise of the powers conferred by sub -section (3 ) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1988) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) and in super -session of earlier notification S.O. 1008 (E) dated 17th September, 2002, the Central Government hereby constitutes a permanent Aut hority to be known as the 'Central Empowered Committee', (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), consisting of the following members appointed in pursuance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order dated 18th August, 2023 in I. A. NOS. 196062 AND 174896/2 019 in Writ Petitions (Civil) No. 202/95 for the purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court covering the subject matter of Environment, Forest and Wildlife, and related issues arising out of the said orders an d to suggest measures and recommendations generally to the State, as well as Central Government, for more effective implementation of the Act and other orders of the Court. a) Chairman: i. having special knowledge and experience of twenty five years in the fi eld of Environment or Forest and Wildlife OR a person with a proven administrative experience of not less than twenty -five years in the Central Government and/or State Government . ii. shall be nominated by the Central Government for a tenure of three years, which can be extended maximum for one more tenure. iii. maximum age of the Chairman shall be sixty six years. iv. shall be appointed at a level not below the rank of Additional Secretary (Pay leve l-15) in the Government, by the Central Government. b) Member Secretary: i. shall be a full -time serving officer of the Government not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Forests or Director in the Government of India. ii. having special knowledge in the field of Environment or Forest and Wildlife experience with not less than twelve years. iii. to be appointed by the Central Government. iv. shall be the Chief Coordinating Officer of the Committee and shall assist the Committee in the discharge of its functions under this Notification. c) Three Expert Members: i. one each from the fields of the Environment, Forest and Wildlife. ii. with experience of not less than twenty years. iii. they will be nominated by the Central Government for a tenure of three years and can be extended maximum for one more tenure subject to the age limit prescribed herein above. iv. tenure of the member shall not exceed till attaining the age of sixty six years. v. shall be appointed at level not below the rank of Joint Secretary (Pay level -14) by the Central Government and shall be below the rank of the Chairman of the committee. 2. The Committee shall exercise the following powers and perform the following functions: - A. Powers and functions conferred upon the Committee by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202/1995 and 171/1996 in the case of T. N. Godavarman Thirumalpad Vs. Union of India and others : - a) to monitor the implementation of Supreme Court' s orders in above matters and place reports of noncompliance before the Central Government for appropriate actions; b) to deal with any applications made to it by any aggrieved person and wherever necessary, to make a report to the Central Government in that matter; c) for the purposes of effective discharge of powers conferred upon the Committee under this order; the Committee can: - i. call for any documents from any persons or the government of the Union or the State or any other official. ii. undertake site inspectio n. iii. seek assistance or presence of any person(s) or official(s) required by it in relation to its work. iv. co-opt one or more persons as special invitees for dealing with specific issues. v. co-opt, wherever feasible, the Secretary of the State Government dealing with the subjects related to Forest or Wildlife or Environment or his representative or the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of the State as special invitees while dealing with issues pertaining to a particular State. vi. to suggest or recommend measure s generally to the State as well as Central Government, for the more effective implementation of the Act and other orders of the Supreme Court in above matters. B. to examine and advise or recommend on any issue referred to the Committee by the Central Gover nment, from time to time. 3. In case any suggestion or recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee, not acceptable to the State or Central Government, the Government shall give reasons in writing for not accepting the same and such decision o f the Central Government shall be final. 4. In case of the deferment of the decision of the State Government with the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee, the matter shall be referred to the Central Government and the decision of th e Central Government shall be final and binding. 5. The members of the Committee are appointed in their personal capacity and the Committee shall function under the administrative control of the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with its headquarters at Delhi. 6. The salaries, allowances payable to; and the other perks and terms and conditions of service of, the Chairperson and Members, shall be such as may be prescribed, provided that neither the salary, allowances nor perks and the other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson or a Member shall be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. 7. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change shall provide suitable a nd adequate office accommodation for the Committee and requisite manpower, budgetary support and infrastructure to discharge the functions and powers delegated to the Committee . 8. The expenditure incurred on the working of the Committee includin g salary or remuneration to the members and supporting staff, will be met by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 9. The Committee shall submit quarterly reports to the Central Government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change shall undertake periodical review and audit on the functioning of the Committee. 10. The jurisdiction of the Committee shall extend to the whole of India. [E. F. No. 13-12/2022 -SU] R. RAGHU PRAS AD, Inspector General of Forests Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring R oad, Mayapuri, New Delhi -110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi -110054.