HYDERABAD: In a shocking development, a Telangana State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) member, Imran Siddiqui, has accused the State government of suppressing information from the TSBWL regarding involvement of drilling of boreholes as part of uranium exploration in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve of Nallamala forests.
Siddiqui, the founder of tiger conservation NGO Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HyTiCoS), said that the SBWL was basically fooled into giving the clearance for uranium exploration by the Atomic Minerals Directorate during its meeting held in December 2016.
Speaking at the all-party meeting on uranium mining on Monday, Siddiqui said that the SBWL was told that only aerial surveys would be conducted for uranium exploration. This was despite the fact that a report was released in June itself by the then Field Director of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, which had clearly mentioned that 4,000 boreholes would be drilled as per the AMD’s proposal for uranium exploration, based on which he did not recommend the project as it would harm the forest’s ecosystem.
He also pointed that the resolution passed by the Assembly against mining skipped uranium exploration and has resolved that only uranium mining will not be allowed. The resolution will not serve much purpose and the only way is the State government officially not recommending the proposal.