A day ahead of the State Cabinet meet to be held aboard a cruise boat in Hanumantiya island, rights activist Ajay Dubey alleged that the State Government is failing to keep its promise before the Supreme Court (SC), twenty nine years back to form Omkareshwar National Park for the conservation of wild animals and condemened the meet and termed it as ‘brutal tourism’.
Hanumantiya Island is situated in reservoir of Indira Sagar dam built on Narmada river wildlife.
Dubey in a statement here on Monday said, “Everybody knows that the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Government would hold its cabinet meeting on a cruise boat at Hanumantiya Island. It is important to inform on this occasion, that before the start of Indira Sagar project Madhya Pradesh Government promised before the SC that for the safety of rare wild animals including tigers and leopards it would form Omkareshwar National Park, Sinhaji Sanctuary and Mandhata Conservation unit Narmada 1 and 2 under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1972. But due to political interests and serving interests of forest mafia the State Government has not fulfilled its promise made before the apex court till now.”
Dubey further said that this brutal negligence and insensitiveness of the state government resulted not only in wipeout of the tigers from this area (forest in between Dewas and Khandwa) but the other wild animals were also extensively hunted. Precious forest resources were lost that include forest cutting, he added.
He said that the Accountant General office also sought from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over the issue. In the tenure of Shivraj government not only the poaching of tigers and leopards is going on freely but illegal forest cutting is also taking place at faster pace. MP Forest Department at the place of conserving forests and wildlife is exploiting them for earning money through MP Eco Tourism Board and for that it has prepared to start illegal tourism activities, he added.