Friday, March 31, 2017

HC seeks govt response to PIL against wind farm

| Mar 10, 2017, 04.31 AM ISTAhmedabad: Gujarat high court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government in response to a PIL objecting to the establishment of a wind farm in the vicinity of a reserved forest at Brihad Gir in Amreli district. 

A wildlife activist, Biren Padhya, filed the PIL seeking HC intervention.

He submitted that the forest department and residents of Bhekhra and Senjal villages near Savarkundla have repeatedly informed the Amreli district collector and the company installing the windmills - Inox Wind Infrastructure Services Ltd - to stop work.

The district authority did not respond to the requests to save the wildlife in the area, which has sizeable numbers of Asiatic lions, leopards and other Schedule 1 animals. They claimed that the construction of windmills and movement of heavy vehicles would cause irreparable damage to wildlife in the area.

The petitioner also submitted that government wasteland and gauchar land was allotted to one Gujarat Floro Chemicals Ltd, which could not have transferred the land to a private party for a wind farm. The petitioner also alleged that the company has not obtained an NOC from the forest authorities, to establish a wind farm close to the forest area.The petitioner claimed that the laxity of the authorities is not in consonance with observations made by the Supreme Court while deciding the case of the translocation of lions to Madhya Pradesh.This case is to be heard further on March 29.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/hc-seeks-govt-response-to-pil-against-wind-farm/articleshow/57545024.cms

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