The Times of India:Thursday, February 02, 2012.
COIMBATORE: In a GO dated September 30, 2008, the state government notified the formation of Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board. But a recent Right To Information (RTI) application has revealed that barely four years later, the board is nearly defunct after having just identified one biodiversity heritage site, Senthiraikillai in Cuddalore district.
The RTI application, according to K Mohan Raj, who filed it, also found that the biodiversity board "does not exist and hence is non-functional". The fund allocations are also meagre and the commitment to establish a fully functional State Biodiversity Board is missing.
The RTI applicant also said that the state should appoint a full time chairman and secretary as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Every local body including 12,620 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu should establish biodiversity management committees (BMC), but only six BMCs are functional. These are Vadamadurai in Theni district, Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur, Thiruvarankulam in Pudukottai, Athoor in Dindugul, Kolli hills in Namakkal and Mandapam - Ramanathapuram.
The RTI application, according to K Mohan Raj, who filed it, also found that the biodiversity board "does not exist and hence is non-functional". The fund allocations are also meagre and the commitment to establish a fully functional State Biodiversity Board is missing.
The RTI applicant also said that the state should appoint a full time chairman and secretary as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Every local body including 12,620 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu should establish biodiversity management committees (BMC), but only six BMCs are functional. These are Vadamadurai in Theni district, Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur, Thiruvarankulam in Pudukottai, Athoor in Dindugul, Kolli hills in Namakkal and Mandapam - Ramanathapuram.
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