Since government cannot be trusted to protect Western Ghats, people should control it
The irony is that it happened so close to the International Day for Biological Diversity. When the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) first developed cold feet about the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report and decided not to make it public it was September 2011. Following a protracted hearing of an RTI application, matters came to a head last month. But MoEF was determined that the report prepared under the chairmanship of eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil should not see the light of day claiming it would affect the “scientific or economic interests of the states” along the 1,500 km long hill chain of resplendent beauty and unexplored wealth.
When matters came to a head early in May this year with the Chief Information Commissioner rejecting MoEF’s many ploys to keep the report “secret”, the ministry got succour from the Delhi High Court which countermanded a ruling by the Central Information Commission (CIC). In its April 9 order, CIC had set May 10 as the date for release of the Gadgil report, which, it pointed out, was prepared with public money and in public interest. “MoEF’s unwillingness to be transparent is likely to give citizens an impression that most decisions are taken in furtherance of corruption.” But that did little to embarrass a ministry which over the years has not been unwilling to bypass regulations and grant approvals to projects that have inexorably ravaged the environment.
The court order came less than a fortnight before the May 22 International Day for Biological Diversity, a day dedicated to increasing understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. Instead, a contrarian MoEF was doing its best to keep people out of the loop on the preservation of an area that is verily the most prized in terms of biological riches.
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