Damning observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on unapproved constructions by the ISHA foundation in Coimbatore has put the Tamil Nadu Forest Department on the back foot.
The CAG alleges that ISHA Foundation carried out construction in a protected forest area known for its elephant corridor without permission from the Hill Area Conservation Authority from 2005-2008.
Despite its District field officer from Coimbatore conducting an assessment of the area and observing the violation in February 2012, the Forest Department failed to stop further construction.CAG Report
What Was the Violation?
As per the CAG report, which was tabled in the state Assembly on Monday, the ISHA Foundation has constructed various buildings in an area of 32,856 sq ft in Booluvapatti village with the permission of the village panchayat. This was between 1994 and 2008.
This construction was carried on without obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA).
The HACA's duty is to ensure that development on the hills is ecologically acceptable. According to a government order in 2003, HACA's approval was a must for construction of commercial and office buildings in the village.
In October 2011, the Foundation requested the Forest Department to issue an NOC and ex-post factor approval. But in 2012, when an official from the Forest Department visited the venue, he found that earlier construction of buildings in an area of 11,873 sq m undertaken from 2005-2008 was permitted by the Panchayat without consultation with the HACA.
Area Known For Elephant Corridor
The Foundation continued construction in the area despite issue of notices by the Forest Department in February and April 2012 on the plea that the buildings were in protected area of Booluvapatti reserve forest range, known for elephant habitat/corridor. The request for NOC was returned (February 2013) by Forest Department and thereafter no follow-up action was initiated to stop further construction.CAG Report
Despite this blatant violation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the ISHA Foundation in February 2017 to unveil the 113-foot Shiva statue in the campus.
A month after this show of political support, ISHA “re-approached the Forest Department stating that NOC was obtained from Tahsildar, Revenue Department and requested NOC from the Forest Department for approaching HACA. The DFO (District Forest Officer), Coimbatore forwarded the request to Principal Chief Conservators of Forest (PCCF) with a recommendation for the grant of HACA permission”, says the report.
The reasons cited allegedly included that the buildings were already constructed and that it was used by people for religious purposes.
“The applicant sought ex-post-facto approval despite the fact that it was within 100 m from Reserve Forest boundary and Writ Petitions were filed by an individual for demolition of unapproved buildings constructed in HACA notified areas by the Foundation in the High Court of Madras. The proposal also incorporated specific mitigation measures to prevent disturbances caused to wildlife and creation of water troughs for the benefit of wildlife. The approval of HACA was pending (July 2017),” states the report.
When TNM (The News Minute) contacted the then PCCF senior PC Tyagi, he admits that he did pass on the report despite the clear violation of rules.
I passed it on to HACA. It was placed before a HACA committee. The Housing Secretary was looking into it. As far as I am aware no decision was taken.PC Tyagi, PCCF
When TNM contacted ISHA Foundation, it said that it had followed the required processes.
ISHA Foundation is not fully aware of details presented in the CAG report. We affirm that we have followed due process for getting the requisite approvals for our buildings. We urge everybody to refrain from commenting on this matter without knowing all the facts.Rahul Dubey, Spokesperson ISHA Foundation
When asked specifically if they had the NOC in question from HACA, they had no answer. The CAG has now slammed the Forest Department for failing to act on notices issued in 2012 during construction of the buildings.
The Department did not insist for completion of mitigation measures and creation of water troughs prior to recommending the case to HACA. This resulted in non-ensuring the ecologically acceptable and environmental safeguarding of biodiversity of hills.CAG Report
Environmentalists allege that the Forest Department, state Government and the Centre all colluded to allow the encroachment.
"The man-animal conflict in the region following these constructions has noticeably increased and all these institutions are responsible for every human death in this region now," says Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmental activist. "If the state government had a conscience, they would immediately demolish the building and allow things to return to normalcy," he adds.
Conservationist Mac Mohan points out that the political support that the Foundation's founder Jaggi Vasudev has protects him from any action against him.
"The government was well aware of these violations," he alleges. "And now with a CAG report pointing it out, there are questions that the Forest Department must answer."
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)