NAGPUR : The state information commission (SIC) has issued a show-cause notice to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) for not supplying information under the RTI Act on details about eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
The notice has been served under Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act asking as to why a penalty of Rs250 per day should not be charged for delaying information to city-based activist Avinash Prabhune.
In its order issued on January 5, 2019, state information commissioner Dilip Dharurkar has asked the TATR public information officer (PIO) to supply all details to Prabhune within 15 days from the date of order. The The case also exposes how RTI Act is being violated by forest officials.
TATR’s ESZ proposal was among the first to be sent for notification of ESZ in 2014. During the period eco-zones of at least 27 protected areas (PAs) in the state have been notified but TATR has not been notified even now.
In April 10, 2015, the MoEFCC had issued a draft notification of ESZ of over 1,103 sqkm including 118 villages, but a final notification has still not been issued for reasons best known to TATR management and government.
Even as ESZ notification was pending, the state’s urban development department (UDD) issued a notification on September 20, 2017 by passing ESZ guidelines and allowed construction activity within 5km from the boundary of the parks in the state.
Smelling something fishy about Tadoba, where many resorts are coming up close to the park, Prabhune filed first RTI application on December 11, 2017 demanding information on 9 queries including minutes of meetings of wildlife wing officias and MoEFCC.
NGOs alleged the ESZ proposal was allegedly stopped to serve eesort lobby interest. “If the proposal is not final, the forest department should have supplied compliance reports from time to time. It raises suspicion why TATR ESZ proposal only has been kept pending?” asked environmentalist Suresh Chopne of NGO Green Planet, Chandrapur.
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