Environmentalists have slammed the government for appointing Rakesh Nath, who's perceived to be sympathetic to the power industry and large dams, as chairman of 'expert appraisal committee (EAC) for environmental appraisal of river valley and hydro-electric projects'.

"Nath is the chairman of the national committee of the International Commission on Large Dams (INCOLD), which is a rabidly pro-large dam organization, essentially working as a lobby mechanism for large dams," says a letter, dated June 19th, written to environment minister Jairam Ramesh by 23 individuals, mostly representing environment groups.

"Since the EAC is designed to understand and evaluate environmental and social impacts of large dams and also look at 'no-dam' option.... its chairman needs to be a person with a far more balanced and independent approach on the large-scale impacts of hydro power and river valley projects," says the letter.

EAC was an important body in that it decided the process of environment impact assessment (EIA) of a hydro-electric project and recommended clearance or rejection of a project, Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People) told Governance Now, adding: "The chairman can have the final word in EAC's decision making, riding roughshod over the views of other members."

Interestingly, Jairam Ramesh had granted a similar request by environmentalists soon after becoming minister in June 2009, which resulted in the resignation of P. Abraham as the chairperson of the EAC. Devendra Pandey, the next chairman, was believed to be more pro-environment but lasted for only 8-9 months. Rakesh Nath is the third person to be appointed as chairman of the EAC in the last two years.

In pointing out Nath's power industry connections, the environmentalists have cited his previous jobs as chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and as chairman of Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

Thakkar said most of the other 12 members of the reconstituted EAC were also either pro-industry individuals or without any experience in dealing with environmental issues.

The letter to Ramesh cites a Delhi high court judgement (Uttakarsh Mandal Vs Union of India) in a similar case in which the court had said "appointing a person who has a direct interest in the promotion of the mining industry as chairperson of the EAC (mines)" was an "unhealthy practice".

The letter cites another judgement in which the Supreme Court had disapproved of the appointment of civil engineers and mining experts in forest advisory committees set up under the Forest (conservation) Act, 1980.

"The ministry of environment exists to protect the environment, which should reflect in the composition of the EACs," Kanchi Kohli, member of the Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group told Governance Now.

"In fact, composition of all such EACs set up by the ministry are under cloud, including the EAC for thermal power projects, where VP Raja, a bureaucrat who has no expertise in environmental-related issues, has recently been appointed chairman," she adds.

Objection to Raja's appointment, who's currently chairman of Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), has come from EIA Resource and Response Centre, another environment group, in a similar letter addressed to Ramesh.

The EACs (expert appraisal committees) are set up as part of the EIA process under a 2006 notification to make recommendations to the ministry with regard to whether a project should be granted environment clearance or not.

The EAC for environmental appraisal of river valley and hydro-electric projects is slated to convene on June 30 under the new chairman.