Expressindia:KapilDave:Tuesday, January 24, 2012.
Gandhinagar The state government has declined to disclose information under Right to Information(RTI) Act regarding pollution and ecological damage in India’s first Marine Sanctuary and National Park in Jamnagar due to industrial activity by Essar group, which says such information can be used for terrorist activity.
RTI and environment activist Pankati Jog, who was a marine scientist with National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa, had filed an RTI application in April 2009 with the state’s Forest & Environment Department, seeking a certified copy of the report of the state government’s committee for forest land use regarding permission to M/s Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd in Jamnagar district.
She had also sought a certified copy of the state government’s official communication with the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) regarding the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance to the company for jetties and sea water intake and an effluent release facility for its thermal power project in Salaya creek, near Salaya village in Jamnagar.
She also sought a certified copy of ‘’marine environment management and strategies for the Gulf of Kutch” prepared by the NIO.
However, the company reportedly refused to disclose the information, arguing such information could be used by terrorists to stage a Mumbai-like attack and that there was no public interest in seeking such “confidential” information.
The RTI query first went to Hardik Shah, who was the then public information officer (PIO) with the state’s Forest and Environment Department before moving to his current posting as the member secretary of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).
After he refused the sought information, Jog moved to the appellate authority, who was J K Vyas, the director (environment). Here too, the director went with the company’s submission and refused to furnish any information to the applicant.
The applicant then challenged the appellate order in the state’s Information Commission, which has now issued notices to all the concerned parties. The hearing will likely be held in a week.
Jog said, “The PIO just agreed on everything submitted by the company. He did not explain how this information is ‘confidential’ and an ‘official secret’. The PIO and the appellate authority have not even given a written order since 2009.”
“In my written submission, I have said that I should be provided with at least the three-member government committee’s report in which it categorically denied permission to the company in Marine Sanctuary and National Park. Despite objections by the expert committee, the state government supported the company in its communication with the MoEF, hiding important facts. I have asked for a copy of the state government’s communication with the MoEF on the issue, which is not the company’s trade secret,” Jog said.
The Marine National Park spread over 162.89 sq km and the 457.92 sq km Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Kutch in Jamnagar offer exotic sightings for people willing to go on an adventure trip in this area. In the Gulf of Kutch, 42 islands sit like little gems in the Arabian Sea. Fringed by coral reefs, sandy beaches and mangrove swamps, these islands are a treasure trove of marine species and a paradise for birdwatchers.
The sanctuary and the national park has many sea wonders like octopus, jelly fish, star fish, colourful corals, exotic marine flowering plants, puffer fish, sea horse, huge green sea turtles, lobsters, dolphins, etc. It has 37 species of hard and soft corals.
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