After the High Court had cleared the appointment of Girija Vaidyanathan, Former Tamil Nadu chief secretary, to the post of expert member at the National Green Tribunal, Girija has informed the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change that she will not take up the post. Therefore in her place, K.Satyagopal has been appointed and asked to take charge with immediate effect.
Earlier, one Sundarrajan, the Managing Trustee of the environmental NGO Poovulagin Nanbargal had filed a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the appointment of Girija Vaidyanathan on the ground that she did not possess sufficient administrative experience in environmental matters to qualify for appointment of NGT expert member.
The Court on hearing the case found that there were certain ambiguities in the law regarding experience required for bureaucrats to be appointed as expert members but dismissed the petition filed by Sunderrajan who has now challenged this order of dismissal before the Supreme Court.
