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From: ratnam@xxxxxxxxxx
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Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:07:20 +0500
Tagging on MoEF's press release on NBSAP with Kalpavriksh misdeeds on Lalkhet suggests that since Kalpavriksh erred on Lalkhet, it must have done so on NBSAP. That kind of syllogism is illogical without going into details of NBSAP. Enemy's enemy is not always friend, just as legal is not always legitimate. At the very least, MoEF needs to explain how it was monitoring its technical consultant, what it was doing for close to 2 years after completion of the report and make its scientific committe's findings public. From what I know, the NBSAP Committee included GoI scientists and MoEF officials in their official capacity. I would hazard a guess that this reaction by MoEF is linked to Kalpavriksh questioning MoEF's record of flawed EIAs and project clearances, and MoEF's draft Environment Policy. For its Env Policy draft and new EIA draft, MoEF has used consultants, from my knowledge, very `market-friendly' ones.
Rajesh