The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has issued a notice to wildlife conservationist Vidya Venkatesh, a member of the Mumbai-based NGO ‘Last Wilderness Foundation’, seeking a detailed report on the workshops organised by the NGO in the state’s forest areas.
The NGO is a member of the state wildlife board, which is chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Venkatesh is also a nominated member of the state wildlife action plan.
The state forest department has mentioned that the NGO has been involved in various types of work (related to training workshops in forests) with multiple sources for revenue for the purpose. Venkatesh has been asked to submit a detailed report that the NGO she is associated with has conducted workshops in reserve forest zones in Madhya Pradesh in the last five years.
The forest department has mentioned that the report should carry the details regarding the number of programmes organised with proper mention of date and place. It has also sought the details of the beneficiaries of the programmes. “If you have received from the state forest department or any other branch of it, provide the details of the same. You are requested to submit your reply within the next seven days,” the notice available with IANS stated.
The department had issued a similar notice to Vekatesh in January this year, however, no reply was received, it has been mentioned in the fresh notice. January’s notice was issued following a complaint by Madhya Pradesh-based wildlife activist Ajay Dube, who alleged that the NGO has been involved in various activities like nature guide training, tribal tourism, handicraft cell workshops etc. at different tiger reserves and earmarked forest zones in Madhya Pradesh.
The NGO has also been organising awareness programmes in the surrounding area of the Kuno National Park (KNP) after the ‘cheetah project’ was launched and Vidya Vekatesh was also involved in providing training to forest staff deployed for monitoring the cheetahs.
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