6 state saw mills violated Supreme Court order

Cocking a snook at the 1997 order of the Supreme Court (SC) banning location of wood-based industry near forests, six saw mills in Maharashtra were found operating next to the restricted reserve forest areas and that too with the state forest minister's permission given in 1994.

These saw mills, some of which are operating within 30 metres of protected forest and a kilometre from reserve forests, were allowed to reopen in violation of the apex court orders, said the central empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor implementation of its orders.

When the CEC confronted the state government as to how letters dated april 7, 2004 and april 29, 2004 were written allowing veneer and plywood industries to continue operation, the chief secretary had an interesting story to tell.

In his response to CEC, chief secretary R M Premkumar implicated the forest minister in the then Congress-NCP government of the state and other officials below him.

"The letters of April 7 and April 29 were issued on the basis of approvals given by the principal secretary (forest) and minister of forest and for which the approval of the chief secretary was not obtained," Premkumar said.

Noticing this, a three-judge bench headed by justice Y K Sabharwal has asked the state government to respond within four weeks to the application filed by CEC on this issue.

Appearing for the ministry of environment and forests in the central goernment, advocate A D N Rao pointed out that premises of these saw mills were sealed by it on the basis of court orders and hence the state government should explain as to how these came to be opened.