New Delhi: The Supreme Court has constituted a high-powered committee to conduct an independent review of the Centre's report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range. It also directed the panel to address "critical ambiguities" in the findings.The committee, headed by Kanchan Devi, director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), has been asked to submit a comprehensive report by August 31. Kanchan Devi is a 1991-batch Indian Forest Service officer.Last December, the top court had stayed the implementation of an October 2025 report prepared by a committee chaired by the secretary of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC).Also Read: Expert committee on Aravalli must consult domain experts, other stakeholders: Supreme CourtThe court had then underlined the need for an independent body of domain experts to undertake a fresh scientific and ecological assessment.It had observed that a "fair, impartial and independent expert opinion" was necessary after consulting all relevant stakeholders to provide definitive guidance on several contentious issues relating to the protection of the Aravalli ecosystem.The committee's members include Subhash Ashutosh, former director general of the Forest Survey of India; Rajendra Kumar Sharma, former director of the Geological Survey of India; Brij Mohan Singh Rathore, former joint secretary in the environment ministry; and Ashok K Bhatnagar, former head of the department of botany at Delhi University.The environment ministry has been directed to nominate an officer of the rank of director to serve as the committee's member secretary.