Central Information Commission
Mr.Dileepnevatia vs Ministry Of Environment And Forests on 20 July, 2011
In the Central Information Commission
at
New Delhi
File No: CIC/AD/A/2011/901109
Date of Hearing : July 20, 2011
Date of Decision : July 20, 2011
Parties:
Applicant
Shri Dileep Nevatia
5A Shashi Deep
Worli Sea Face
Mumbai 400 030
The Applicant arrived late after the Respondents left, because of flight delay. However,
inadvertently the Applicant forgot to mark his attendance in the attendance sheet.
Respondents
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Paryavaran bhavan
CGO Complex
Lodhi Road
New Delhi
Represented by : Shri E. Thirunavukkarasu, CPIO & Dy. Director
Shri Bharat bhushan, AA & Director
Information Commissioner : Mrs. Annapurna Dixit
___________________________________________________________________
In the Central Information Commission
at
New Delhi
File No: CIC/AD/A/2011/001094
ORDER
Background
1. The Applicant filed an RTI application dt.22.11.10 with the CPIO, MoEF seeking certified copies of documents and records along with notings and all enclosures thereof from 1992 onwards with regard to the proposal seeking environmental clearance for Bandra Worli sea link project and mainly consisting of a bridge of 4km length. Shri E. Thirunavukkarasu, CPIO replied on 25.1.11 stating that all the documents including the note sheets, EIA reports etc. regarding the Bandra Worli Sea Link project, available on record were already provided vide letters dt.25.8.09, 7.10.09, 16.9.09, and 6.12.10. He added that there are no other documents available with the Public Authority and that if the Applicant wishes to inspect the records, he may specify the date for inspection. Not satisfied with the reply, the Applicant filed an appeal dt.5.2.11 with the Appellate Authority. He stated that MoEF in its affidavit in reply dt.24.10.10 in Bombay High Court in Writ Petition No.992 of 2010 has made the following statements:
Para 4 - I say that the Respondent No.9 had submitted a proposal on 10.6.93 to this Respondent seeking Environmental clearance for bandra Worli Sea Link project. The proposal mainly consists of a bridge of 4 km length at Mahim Bay between Bandra and Worli side approach road...' Para 14 ...I say Environmental Impact Assessment of BWSL project covers the data for the radius up to 10 km which includes Khan Abdul Gafar Khan Road Para 21 - I deny the contention of para 60 that the connector at Pratiksha Building has been constructed without environmental clearance by Respondent No.1. I say that the proposal of Respondent No.9 at the time of submitting the proposal for BWSL, had made it clear to this Respondent that the Bandra end will be on KAGK Road and the approach on the Bandra end of BWSL shall be in the form of road and the approach part of Worli side will have to be located between High Tide Line and Low Tide Line and will fall in CRZ 1 area.
He added that instead of making available the specific documents and records which have been relied upon by MoEF in the above points as mentioned in the said affidavit, the CPIO has entirely skirted and dovetailed the issue by stating that all the documents have been provided and that there are no other documents available with the Public Authority. On not receiving any further response, the Applicant filed a second appeal dt.25.3.11 before CIC. Decision
2. During the hearing, the Commission reviewed the information sought against each point in the RTI application. In this connection, the Respondents submitted against each point that there is only one proposal with regard to the Bandra Worli Sea Link Project and this has been shared with the Appellant along with all other related documents and file notings and that there are no other proposals. He added that information sought by the Appellant against each poi9nt is already available in the proposal provided to him.
3. The Appellant who arrived late for the hearing due to late arrival of his flight from Mumbai refuted the contention of the Respondent that the proposal mentions a bridge of 4 kms length. He produced before the Commission a letter dt.10.6.1993 written by Shri Prabhakar Dixit, Deputy Secretary to Govt. of Maharashtra to the Secretary, MoEF stating that IL&FS have proposed to take up the construction of WorliBandra link as a BOT project and that an MOU has been signed by the BMRDA with IL&FS with approval of State Govt. The letter further states that the WorliBandra link crosses Mahim Bay at Worli point and connects Bandra near Sea Rock Hotel (by a bridge 1.2 km long). According to the Appellant this is the proposal which has agreed to and that the bridge length is shown to be only 1.2 km . He averred that that the contents of the affidavit filed by Shri Bharat Bhushan before the Bombay High Court (para 4) are totally incorrect and that the Shri Bharat Bhushan has thereby mislead the Hon'ble Court on this matter. The Appellant also pointed out that the Appellate Authority (Shri Bharat Bhushan) has made it clear in his response dated 26.4.11 to the first appeal with respect to another RTI application , that only one application was submitted by BMRDA and according to him (Appellant ) that one application as already is the one mentioning a bridge of length 1.2km only which has been issued clearance by the Ministry on 7.1.1999. The Appellant wanted to know what the exact proposal which has been cleared indicates. A bridge of 1.2km or of 4 kms length
4. The Commission after hearing the submissions of both sides and having noted that the Respondents have not placed complete facts before the undersigned, directs the PIO, Ministry of Environment & Forests to bring the complete file containing the original proposal on the subject matter, that has been cleared by the Ministry as also the documents issuing the clearance along with other related communication to the Commission for their inspection by Shri G. Subramanian, Deputy Registrar, CIC on 11 August, 11, 4.30p.m so that the Commission can verify the facts for itself before giving any decision.
5. Decision reserved.
(Annapurna Dixit) Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy (G.Subramanian) Deputy Registrar Cc:
1. Shri Dileep Nevatia 5A Shashi Deep Worli Sea Face Mumbai 400 030
2. The Public Information Officer Ministry of Environment and Forests Paryavaran bhavan CGO Complex Lodhi Road New Delhi
3. The Appellate Authority Ministry of Environment and Forests Paryavaran bhavan CGO Complex Lodhi Road New Delhi
4. Officer in charge, NIC