Along with their former member of parliament Sitaram Gadvi, they have written to Union minister Jairam Ramesh saying that tribals in 32 of the 70 villages around the sanctuary are forbidden from building houses within 100 metres of the sanctuary, whereas the rule applies only to factories.
D&NH has a 92 sq km forest and wildlife sanctuary, which is notified as an eco-fragile zone according to the guidelines in the Environment Protection Act, 2002.
The tribals say the wrong interpretation of the law by foresters and the local pollution control authorities is leading to a lot of oppression. Chief conservator of forests, D&NH S Agarwal said he too learnt of the wrong procedure adopted by the collector's office when they sought a no objection certificate from his department to clear the approval of rural level structures falling under the eco-fragile zone. Read the full report here.
Source: Hardik Shah, TNN, Vapi.
