Madhya Pradesh’s environment body in turmoil, chairman seeks member secretary’s suspension

A growing rift between senior officials of Madhya Pradesh’s State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has spilt into the open, with Chairman Shivnarayan Singh Chauhan seeking the immediate suspension of Member Secretary Harshal Pancholi, accusing him of “damaging the reputation of SEIAA and the state government”.

Pancholi told The Indian Express he is ready to face any investigation.

Chauhan has accused the member secretary of bypassing the chairman’s approval, selectively listing cases for environmental clearance and failing to act on a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order restricting mining without the authority’s approval, The Indian Express has learnt.

In a four-page letter dated October 20 to Chief Secretary Ashok Barnwal, Chauhan alleged that “Pancholi is repeatedly committing serious irregularities and openly violating prescribed legal provisions”.

The chairman warned that a “delay in taking disciplinary action against him is causing irreparable damage to the environment and creating a situation of disorder within SEIAA”.

“Since he is the Member Secretary of SEIAA as well as an officer of the state government, the irregularities allegedly committed by him are damaging the reputation of SEIAA and the state government,” Chauhan wrote.

When contacted, Chauhan confirmed he sent the letter. “Whoever works against the law, we will take action against them.”

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Pancholi, when contacted, said, “As per the rules, it is the member secretary who drafts the agenda, prepares the minutes of the meeting and also helps in deciding the environmental clearances. The chairman has been doing all this in his own office, and the member secretaries have been a rubber stamp post. Now I have come in and brought transparency to the process, and he is seeking my suspension citing clerical errors.”

Chauhan responded that he made the allegations based on proper documentation. “I am not making false allegations and have proper proof of every allegation,” he claimed.

500 cases pending

The dispute comes as around 500 cases are pending before SEIAA, according to the chairman’s letter.

Chauhan alleged that Pancholi “prepared the agendas for meetings under his administrative control without following the prescribed procedure.”

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He alleged that Pancholi “either does not understand the law or is deliberately disregarding it.”

“Although the agendas were required to be approved by the Chairperson, seven cases were included in the agenda of SEIAA’s 966th meeting without the Chairperson’s approval, allegedly in violation of the legal provisions,” Chauhan claimed.

The dispute is not limited to the internal administration of the authority. One allegation concerns compliance with an NGT order dated February 3, 2026, which dealt with mining permissions issued by two executive officers without the required consideration and approval of SEIAA. The tribunal directed that the mining identified in the case should not proceed without SEIAA’s approval.

Chauhan alleged that despite repeatedly writing to Pancholi to ensure compliance, the cases identified by the tribunal were not placed before SEIAA for consideration, because of which Pancholi “violated the NGT’s order and did not comply with the Chairperson’s requests.”

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He cited four letters sent on February 10, May 8, October 5 and October 13 this year, alleging that his directions had not been followed and that the relevant cases remained absent from the agenda.

The chairman also referred to proceedings before the Supreme Court in a Writ Petition, in which the Union government submitted a counter-affidavit concerning deemed environmental clearances. Chauhan said he had asked for the relevant cases to be placed before SEIAA, but alleged that only one was included in the agenda.

The letter also points to delays in issuing formal environmental clearance letters even after SEIAA has approved projects. Chauhan alleged that applicants were being made to wait for months, forcing them to make repeated visits to obtain documents after approval had already been granted. He called for an impartial and independent agency to investigate the matter.