The Hindu: Chennai: Tuesday, May 23, 2017.
 |
| Under threat: The RTI applicant says solid waste, especially plastic material, on the campus has led to the death of a large number of deer. File | Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran |
After obtaining info through RTI application,
activist moves NGT.
In a shocking revelation, Indian Institute of
Technology - Madras has disclosed that 220 deer and eight blackbucks have died
in just two years on the sprawling campus of the premier educational
institution.
The disclosure came in reply to an RTI application
filed by Antony Clement Rubin seeking details of animal deaths on the campus.
To a query, IIT(M) replied, “As per our records, 220 deer deaths and 8
blackbuck deaths were recorded between 2014-2016”.
Blackbuck is a Schedule-I species under the Indian
Wildlife Act, 1972, making it one of the most endangered species.
To a query seeking information on road accidents
on the campus that led to wildlife being injured or killed, IIT(M) said one
accident occurred on September 20, 2014. It did not specify whether it led to
just an injury or loss of life.
To another query on measures recommended by the
Forest Department to reduce the number of fatalities, IIT(M) replied: “No
document available”. It gave the same reply to another question that sought to
know how many times the institution called the Forest Department to record
wildlife-related incidents.
Mr. Rubin, an honorary welfare officer with the
Animal Welfare Board of India, has now moved the National Green Tribunal
claiming that inaction on the part of IIT(M) authorities had led to a serious
decline in the number of spotted deer, blackbucks and various other animals on
the 236-acre campus that was once part of the Guindy National Park.
In his application, Mr. Rubin said, “The principal
issue raised here is the irresponsible dumping of solid waste on the IIT Madras
campus, which is a habitat for a large number of wild animals native to the
natural forest here. The huge quantity of plastic in the waste and consumption
of the same by animals has led to the death of a large number of spotted deer.”
The applicant also charged IIT(M) with improper
disposal of waste. “Dumping of waste is taking place in complete violation of
the provisions of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016, and the Plastic
Waste Management Rules, 2016.”
He has sought a “complete ban on non-recyclable
plastics on the IIT(M) campus, including but not limited to, multilayered
plastic packaging, thermocol and styrofoam packaging for food, IT products,
plastic cutlery, plastic bags, polyethylene garbage liners and bags.”
Student fests
Quoting a report by the university journal The
Fifth Estate- The Students’s Voice of IIT Madras, the application said that
about 21 deer died and three injured in January 2014 alone – the month when the
student fests Shaastra and Saarang are organised. “The causes for such deaths
were declared as dog attacks, accidents and ‘natural’. Further, the stress
caused by noise pollution from the fests and vulnerability of mothers and
offspring to dog attacks (January is the fawning season) could cause
casualties,” the application said.
Mr. Rubin said during the cultural fest, thousands
of vehicles pass through the campus, causing a lot of disturbance and danger to
the wildlife. “In the year 2011, on the last day of Saarang, January 29, three
spotted deer were hit by speeding vehicles,” he said.
He has also prayed that IIT(M) “ immediately stop
disposal of waste on the campus, direct them remove the dumped waste from the
common land in order to prevent further health hazards and death of deer,
including plastic and construction material”.
He also sought a direction to IIT(M) “to ensure
restoration of the ecosystem damaged due to improper waste management on campus
to its original position,” while seeking a direction to the Greater Chennai
Corporation to constitute appropriate fine and fee collection mechanism under
the SWM rules.
Mr. Rubin also sought a direction to shift the
cultural fests like Saarang and Shaastra or other such events which draw large
crowds and vehicular traffic to another location, identify stretches found
vulnerable for crossing of wild animals and declare them as “Silent Zones”.
The application has been admitted by the NGT and
is likely to be heard on July 17, Mr. Rubin told The Hindu.
.JPG)
.JPG)
