GUWAHATI, Oct 6 � Even as the wetlands of the State are facing rapid encroachment and some of them have by this time been eliminated by encroachment and illegal settlement, the State Level Steering Committee on Wetlands has not held any meeting during the past ten years.
This was disclosed by the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) and Planning Officer (II) of the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force, Assam, in reply to an RTI application filed by RTI activist Rohit Choudhury.
The SPIO said that the Chief Secretary, or the Additional Chief Secretary of the State is the chairman of the said committee. �Since certain nominations are still to be made for the committee, as such, no meeting of the State Level Steering Committee on Wetlands has been held so far.�
Choudhury in his petition had requested supply of information on the total number of meetings of the Steering Committee held during the past ten years, along with the dates of the meetings.
He also requested supply of the minutes of all the meetings of the Steering Committee held in the last five years.
