Guwahati: A central draft allegedly framed to legalize the industries and factories in the economy sensitive areas is set to run into a hail of protest in Assam and other north eastern states.
Drafted as Environment Impact Assessment 2020, by the ministry of forest and environment, the draft has watered down the existing rules to set up big, medium and small scale industries on the basis of an assessment.
All Assam Students Union and KMSS along with many other organizations have vociferously opposed the move.
"Only Assam and other north eastern states will have to bear the brunt. But we won't allow anybody to loot our resources," said AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
The move assumes significance amid much hurdles and cry over the move to explore oil in the ecosensitive areas like DihingPatkai and Dibru Saikhowa national park.
A non governmental organization based in New Delhi has written to Union forest and environment minister Prakash Javadekar to cancel the draft and to stop the stage managed public hearings. Here is the letter:
Subject: Request to Withdraw Draft EIA 2020 in the interest of Environmental and Public Welfare
Dear Shri. Prakash Javadekar,
In March 2020, during the COVID pandemic and under your leadership, the MOEFCC had released the Draft EIA 2020 Notification, and I am writing to you today to unequivocally request that this draft be withdrawn on account of how destructive it can prove to be for the ecology and the people of our great nation.
Though the notification states that it seeks to make the EIA process ‘more transparent and expedient’. But several renowned organizations, experts and the public have raised serious questions and concerns about the consequences, if such an amendment came into force.
There is a lot of sound scientific research emerging, linking the present pandemic to the vast destruction of natural habitats – which among numerous other ecosystem services, also greatly buffer zoonotic diseases like COVID – 19. This is in the larger context of a global climate breakdown – repercussions of which our country is already witnessing many, including the devastating Supercyclone Amphan in the East and the cyclone Nisarga in the West. In this light, the Draft EIA 2020 caters purely to the ‘ease of doing business’ in India and does not address these larger looming issues. This also comes at a time when the Government is opening up all its sectors to private companies – entities neither elected by or directly accountable to the people. This takes power away from the people which goes against our democratic ideals.
The proposed notification considerably relaxes various guidelines, restrictions and safeguards which legally exist for our wilderness and local people. This is in contravention to the scope and spirit of Section 3 of the Environmental Protections Act (1986) itself. It seems to make circumstances strongly favourable to industrial and corporate interests. Pertinent examples of this are the allowance of post-facto clearances and the non-requirement of EIA for B2 projects, which include potentially harmful ones like river valley projects, tanneries, many chemical manufacturing units, petrochemical industries, expansion of national highways, etc. How can we expect the perpetrators of ecological crimes to keep themselves accountable? We cannot! It is understandable that the government is taking measures to counter the recent economic slowdown, but these measures need to be also cognizant of long term and far-reaching ecological and social impacts. This is not to mention that destruction of the environment is proven to be worse for the economy in the longer term.
While there has been some streamlining with respect to the categorisation of projects, the public consultation step has been severely undermined. This dilutes an important democratic process ensuring the welfare of stakeholders in the project areas. It is not reasonable to expect that the public can get informed opinions on such short timelines.
There are a number of other such exemptions given for industries and relaxations of restrictions, which presently exist as safeguards against destructive development. There is, as such, nothing in the notification which is for the protection and conservation of the environment itself and/or for public welfare. Clearing this draft would be an untold disaster for the long-term welfare of our nation and the world.
It is laudable that the Ministry has extended the notice period for public review of this notification upto August 11th, considering numerous public representations and the lockdown situation. I further request you to kindly consider the above-mentioned arguments and withdraw this notification, keeping in mind the long-term welfare of our country’s natural wealth, local communities, and future generations.
Assam Police have published a list of 11 similar companies that have been collecting money by illegal means and warned people against investing money with them. The list however did not name Saradha Group, against which the police have already registered four cases. One of the two separate notices issued by the Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences.
A hardcore ULFA militant surrendered before the superintendent of police in Jorhat district on Monday.Identified as Jagat Bhuyan alias Madan, he surrendered before Sanjukta Parashar with a M-20 rifle, seven rounds of ammunition and two Chinese made bottle grenades. He had joined the outfit in 2009.
An Assam police team has gripped Sudipta Sen in Kolkata on Sunday after the Saradha Group boss was remanded to the West Bengal police custody.He was grilled in the cases of fraud and forgery lodged against him in the state. Two of the cases were registered in Dispur and one each in Geetanagar and Paltan Bazar.
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Health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma buys band name again after Saradha Chief claimed to have paid him Rs 3 crore.In a letter to CBI on April 6, Sen said, “another high level person who has dramatically cheated me is Himanta Biswa Sarma. In one and half years, we have given him not less than Rs 3 crore, in cash and some vouchers have been signed by his office executives by some other means."Sen further claimed to have paid Matang Sinh for NETV, Manoranjana Gupta for Frontier TV, DY 365 besides Amguri MLA Anjan Dutta crores to rupees.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is seriously contemplating handing over some cases against chit fund companies to CBI.These include the Saradha Group, whose chairman Sudipto Sen was arrested on Tuesday. The move comes after Sen wrote to CBI naming several politicians including a cabinet minister and owners of some private television news channels.
An Assam police team is leaving West Bengal to seek the remand of Sudipta Sen a day after the Saradha Group chief was brought to Kolkata.According to sources, the team would interrogate Sen in connection with the chit-fund scam. He said three staff-members of Saradha Group were arrested in 2012 in connection with a cheating case in Jorhat.So far, 222 cases have been registered against 128 chit fund companies in the State. A Special Investigation Team probing the cases has so far filed charge sheets against 42 persons and 15 companies in 17 cases. So far, 303 persons have been arrested. Nearly Rs. 94 lakh in cash has been seized and amount of Rs. 24 crore frozen. Police have seized 106 bank...
ULFA strongly takes on Zubeen Garg after the popular singer spoke ill of the outfit on the appeal to confine to the traditional Assamese.Talking to a section of television news channels over telephone on Friday, ULFA supremo Paresh Barua said that the singer is reacting in a manner which does not behove for a promising star. Barua said that the scene was created by the singer himself.
Call for SubmissionThe Northeast Green Journalism AwardHonouring outstanding reporting on the environmentAssam Times seeks submissions from mid-career/ mid-level journalists in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura on environmental reporting for the First Northeast Green Journalism Award, 2013.The award will be given to professionals associated with print, online, radio, television and photojournalism.Journalists must submit:Five samples of their original work for print and online; three samples for radio and television; four sets of complete photographic narratives for photojournalism; or four samples of a combination of all....
Guwahati: Journalist Forum Assam (JFA) has expressed serious concern at the closer notices issued by the management of two Assam based daily newspapers and urged Assam government to take initiative for possible re-launching both the newspapers owned by the Kolkata based by Saradha Group. The forum also asked the management to release the outstanding salaries to the journalist and non-journalist employees at the earliest. In a press statement issued by the JFA president Rupam Baruah and secretary Nava Thakuria, the organization revealed that the management of Sakalbela, a Bengali daily and Seven Sister’s Post, an English daily published from Guwahati had issued closer notices recently...
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