Questions raised about outcome of assessment by one-man committee headed by MK Yadava

TINSUKIA: Environmental activists have expressed serious concern about the outcome of the assessment of the one-man inquiry committee headed by MK Yadava, Additional PCCF (WL & CWLW), which was constituted by the Governor of Assam to assess the damage in respect of wildlife, biodiversity, water and air quality due to the Baghjan oil well blowout and subsequent fire. The Divisional Forest Officer, Dibrugarh in turn appointed persons, including college students, to carry out the assessment works in such a sensitive issue.

With experts and field persons from several committees jamming the periphery of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung wetland for independent assessment, allegedly without any specific action plan, a confusion prevails as to who is doing what and for whom. If the version of DFO Dibrugarh was of any indication, a preliminary report would surface which would only have points from the findings of other committees. Even MK Yadava himself is heading two inquiry committees.

What has raised eyebrows of many people is the appointment of Rajib Rudra Tariang of the Zoology department of Digboi College as team expert along with few of his undergraduate students, who other than field experience, do not possess any scientifically analytical data on flora, fauna and water analysis of Maguri-Motapung wetland prior to blowout, said a source. Significantly, no botanist or plant physiologist was engaged in the team. The survey team engaged by the DFO will not get any financial support from any quarters even as the OIL is likely to be coughed up for the job in the later period, said a source.

Pradipta Baruah, DFO Dibrugarh, told this correspondent that he intended to carry out survey work with local expertise. He justified Tariang's selection saying that he had field experience in the subject but the DFO failed to justify the engagement of students in such a sensitive issue. The present assessment will be a 'baseline' study and will not be an in-depth one; Baruah maintained, adding that extensive survey work will be carried out in future to explore potentialities for eco-tourism.

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