Economic
Times: New Delhi: Wednesday, 11 March 2015.
In a first,
apparent environmental degradation in Mumbai has been treated as a complaint by
the Central Information Commission which has taken suo-moto notice and issued
notice to the Environment Ministry to explain if the digging of hills in the
city was permitted by it.
The smoke
over Mumbai sky and digging of hills in the city, observed by Information
Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu, while on a visit to Mumbai, was treated by him
as a complaint under the RTI Act making it a first such case, expanding the
boundaries of the transparency law.
Sridhar, who
was in Mumbai to address officials and scientists of Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre, noticed some smoke over the hills in Mumbai near Airport, on February
27, 2015 while on Air India Flight.
While
travelling further towards Department of Atomic Energy, Bhaba Atomic Research
Centre, he noticed smoke spread over the sky which was also witnessed by the
staff at BARC.
The
Commissioner also noticed that around a dozen hills were being dug by big earth
movers with almost half of the hills were found cut.
"The
Commission has taken notice of this happening and considers this as complaint.
The
Commission directs the Ministry of Environment and Forests to inform the people
through the Commission about the causes, impact and harmful effects on Mumbai
people, any study or action taken, if any, or if contemplated on this
situation, by the authority, and to find out from the concerned authorities,
whether such destruction of hills was permitted or not," Sridhar said in
the order.
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