Right To Information (RTI) and Wildlife activist from the State capital Ajay Dubey has leveled serious allegation of misguiding the State over the Supreme Court orders on tourism in tiger reserves for his personal benefits against the Principal Secretary of Forest Department BP Singh. The wildlife activist has also demanded that Singh be removed from the post immediately.
Dubey in a statement here on Thursday said that the apex court in a historic judgment on our plea for conservation of precious wild animal tiger and to control the uncontrolled tourism in the tiger reserves besides ensuring respectable partnership of locals in the process told the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Government of India in 2012 to call proposals from all the states and after reviewing them set the guidelines for the same.
Dubey said that the documents obtained by him through RTI revealed that it was mandatory for all the State Governments to follow the guidelines set by the Supreme Court. But Singh in order to provide illegal support to the tourism lobby business under conspiracy sent a proposal on November 26, 2013 for increasing tourism capacity in Kanha and Pench tiger reserves through Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forest when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in-force in the state due to the assembly elections, that too without permission from the forest minister to NTCA that was returned by it on January 17, 2014 with instructions to strictly abide with the SC guidelines, he added.
Dubey added that as per the proposal permission was sought to increase the vehicles from 140 to 180 in Kanha and 65 to 80 in Pench besides attempt was made to increase tourism in the core homestead that was denied by the NTCA.
He said that Singh also made unsuccessful attempt to get the proposal passed by personally writing a letter. We allege that the PS forest looks after the interests of the tourism lobby and adopts irresponsible attitude towards the wild animals the proof of that is tigers are continuously dying in the state and Singh is working against the SC order that too while the MCC of is in-force, he added.
He said that we have demanded from the chief secretary and forest minister in a letter to immediately remove Singh from the post.