The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Reliance Telecom on the recommendation of Environment Pollution Control Authority for imposition of a fine of Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) on it for laying optical fibres through Madhav National Park in Madhya Pradesh in defiance of court orders.
A Bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia passed this order when the recommendations were mentioned before it by senior advocate and amicus curiae Uday Umesh Lalit.
It was stated that RTL had applied to the Madhya Pradesh Government in 2001 for permission to lay optical fibre cables through the national park but no such permission was given.
However, in May 2001, the chief wildlife warden of the state permitted RTL for laying OFC inside the National Park giving the reason that the optical fibre would strengthen the telecommunication facility of the park and help control poaching activities.
RTL had stated before the CEC that no trees were felled during the laying of the cables and no damage was caused to the habitat of the animals.
Advocate A D N Rao said CEC in its report has observed that "perhaps in the instant case some extraneous factors influenced the State of Madhya Pradesh" in granting the permission for laying cables.
As a measure for afforestation activity, the RTL be asked to deposit Rs 1 crore in the compensatory afforestation fund, the CEC said.
