NEW DELHI, Sept 14 - The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed former Secretary of Border Management, AK Mangotra, as the Chairman of the committee to oversee the border fencing works along the India-Bangladesh border.
Mangotra, whose name was submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs before the apex court yesterday, was given the green signal by a two-member bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman here today.
Mangotra, who was serving as the Director General of S&D, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was appointed as the Secretary (Border Management), Ministry of Home Affairs, on July 16, 2012.
Mangotra�s appointment came after former Home Secretary GK Pillai declined to accept the offer of chairmanship of the committee. Pillai informed the court expressing his inability.
The other members of the committee are DK Pathak, former Director General, Border Security Force, and Prof Abdul Mannan, a retired Professor of the Gauhati University.
Earlier, Madhukar Gupta, a former Union Home Secretary, had also expressed his reluctance to continue as the Chairman of the committee, citing personal reasons.
Meanwhile, All Assam Students� Union adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya has welcomed Mangotra�s appointment, saying it has been 32 years since the signing of the Assam Accord and the Indo-Bangla border continues to be porous.
