How well are funds spent on sanctuaries and zoos

Central Information Commission wants a impact assessment report by November

Published on:

28 Sep 2011, 9:33 am

Every year, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests spends substantial amount of money on the upkeep of national parks, biosphere reserves, sanctuaries and zoos. But there is little information available on how well the funds are spent. Now the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the ministry to assess and publish the impact of the government funds spent on these places.

CIC order given on a complaint that said information regarding protected areas like their extent, year of establishment, names of the ecologically important flora and fauna in them and the funds allocated to them should be made freely available on the MoEF website under the Right To Information Act (RTI)
After the complaint was filed, the ministry uploaded a report on the “protected area network in the country” with basic information about national parks and sanctuaries. It also made available the details of funds spent on these areas
CIC order said the objective of the Government and the nation should be to ensure that endangered species are protected and a mere report on the funds spent would not achieve this objective