The activists include Bittu Sahgal of Sanctuary Asia, Ashish Kothari of Kalpavriksh, Ravi Agarwal of Toxics Link, Shekhar Singh of Centre for Equity Studies, Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People, Romulus Whitaker of Draco Films, Asad Rahmani of the Bombay Natural History Society and Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Trust of India.

In a detailed letter peppered with specific examples, they blame poor environment impact assessments and a disregard for citizen inputs as key to the fact that critical habitats continue to be 'cleared' for dams, mines, roads, ports, industries and other such projects by the ministry. This not only threatens endangered species but the lives of tribal and other communities which depend on these habitats.

Sample their specific complaints :

• Environment impact assessment is a decision-making and planning tool but has been reduced to a procedural formality to clear projects.

• Destructive development projects have been allowed inside protected areas.

• The National Board for Wildlife and expert committees for environmental clearances have been weakened. Not one national NGO working on wildlife is on the expert committees. The letter says the committee on river valley projects recommended Lower Subansiri for clearance just three weeks after the National Board's predecessor, the Indian Board for Wildlife, had decided fresh bio-diversity impact studies were needed.

• Continuous dilution of the environment impact assessment and coastal regulation zone rules over the years. In 1997, the surface transport ministry was given powers to give environment clearance to port projects; in 2000, it cleared the Dhamra port, just north of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, one of the most important nesting sites in the world for the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.