Forest officials deny claims of ethanol plant management

District Forest Officer Neeraj Kumar Tibrewal refuted claims of the promoters of the plant that they had all clearances.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Forest officials have denied the claims of the promoters of the proposed ethanol, reiterating that the promoters should obtain a clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for setting up the project.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, District Forest Officer Neeraj Kumar Tibrewal refuted claims of the promoters of the plant that they had all clearances.

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“The map/indicative list of clearances provided on the Decision Support System (DSS) on Parvesh 2.0 app of the ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is for guidance purpose only. It does not constitute a legal opinion or advice,” he pointed out.

The DFO said the management was misleading by stating the clearance of the wildlife board was not required.

However, the clearance of wildlife board was mandatory as the project site was situated in an area which forms or part of a tiger reserve as per Section 380 (1) (g) Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

He accused the management of putting ‘undue pressure’ on the forest department and ‘threatening’ lower staff, besides trying to bypass the National Board for Wild Life.

He said the management did not deposit funds relating to 2023 and 2024 towards a conservation plan with a budget of Rs.2.16 crore, as proposed by the PCCF to mitigate wildlife impact under environment clearance, so far.

The promotrs had never sought wildlife clearance from the NBWL even after requesting it to do so, he said.

In a report published on these columns, Sridhar Venigalla, the managing director of Aithanoli Cibus Products Private Limited (ACPPL), proposed to be set up in Metpalli village in Kaghaznagar mandal, claimed that it had all clearances and forest officials were intentionally harassing it.