Greater Kashmir: Srinagar: Monday,
July 11, 2016.
Thanks to the
social networking site ‘facebook’ which brought my attention towards the
environmental week celebrations in Jammu & Kashmir. It was Professor
Wilayat Razvi’s post on facebook about environment day being celebrated in Amar
Singh College, which made me google out how the World Environment Week was
celebrated in J&K this year.
People pay
tax one way or the other and the government organizes funds for the protection
and development of environment. We celebrate environment week to keep our
environment healthy and save our future. But at the same time our money,
people’s money, is being misappropriated by the government officials of Forest
Department. Normally, the Forest Department Employees should have been
safeguarding the forests, but the truth is different… though it may not apply
to all.
Our brother
Activist Nazir Ahmad, famous as “Nazir RTI”, from Shunglipora Khag, who is
having great interest in social activities is very close to Tossamaidan, the
King of Meadows, falling in neighborhood of his house. Nazir has filed many RTI
Applications for the safety of environment and to act against corruption. It is
already on record that Mr Nazir had filed first RTI regarding Tossamaidan when
it was felt difficult and almost impossible to save this king of meadows from
the threat of the army. But now when all that has been possible and the army
has left from the Tossamaidan, there is an another threat emerging for forests
of this area and that is forest department employees. Mr Nazir has again tried
to save the forests of this area from its new enemies “the forest department
officials”. An RTI Application was filed in Pir Panjal Forest Division, Budgam
by Nazir RTI. The information obtained shows a total expenditure of Rupees 88
43 596/= on plantations in compartment numbers S-12, S-13, S-16, S-17, S-18,
S-23, S-24 from year 2010-11 upto 2014-15. The information itself reveals that
only 10 percent plantation is successful in certain compartments which means a
total failure.
According to
Nazir, he had requested the department several times for inspection as per
Section 2(i) of the J&K RTI Act, 2009, but they delayed for several months.
Finally, he was provided time for inspection on March, 24 2016. According to
him the DFO had given time from 10am for the inspection of plantation. On
March, 24 2016, J&K RTI Movement sent a team of Activists under Supervision
of the then District Co-coordinator Er. Irfan Banka along with Nazir RTI and
other activists from Shunglipora Khag for the inspection. The team observed
during inspection that there is 100 percent embezzlement of public money in
compartment No. 23 and 24. Lakhs of trees, both conifers and broad-leaved,
claimed to have been planted by the Forest Department in the past few years in
reality exist nowhere on the ground. This observation was only made by the use
of “right to inspection”. While conducting inspection one of the officers
managed somehow to escape from the spot as he could not show even a single
planted tree. Although they had planted a few saplings before a few days for
misleading the inspection team, but it did not work. In the same area, Rahim
Greens in collaboration with J&K RTI Movement, had a plantation drive a
year before and their saplings have grown to a large extent, all saplings were
found successful as well. The result/analysis totally showed the mismanagement
or embezzlement of public money in the department.
Conclusion:
Mr. Nazir had
filed RTI in just one Forest Division and found such a huge embezzlement by the
forest department officials. How can one expect proper management in other
forest divisions of J&K? Public money is being looted away, environment is
being degraded and in such a case it is not only the responsibility of the
Minister but also of every individual to look around, celebrate environment
week like Nazir RTI did on normal days while conducting inspections rather than
conducting theoretical seminars and programs etc. in big hotels and institutes.
Nazir does not know what World Environment Week/Day is? But he knows the
importance of pure environment and the need to save our planet. Let's save the
environment and not allow the efforts of our brothers like Nazir RTI go waste.
Er. Irfan
Banka is an RTI Activist and Secretary, In-Minds Society (J&K)
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