By Salonee Kulkarni
Keralam has urged the Centre to limit the Ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in its Western Ghats region to forest areas covering 8,590 sq km
On Thursday, 24th September, M.G.Rajamanickam, Special Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, placed the state’s recommendations and suggestions before the Centre. The recommendation deadline was on Friday; this was proposed on behalf of the Keralam government.
Minister of Electricity and Environment, Sunny Joseph, said, “Our stand is that populated areas, farmlands and plantations should be excluded in their entirety and the ESA limited to forest regions.” The Congress-led UDF government intends to pass a resolution to ensure the ESA is restricted to forests.
The state government is planning to decrease the ESA from 9,937 kilometers to 8,590 square kilometers. The number of villages will also be reduced from 131, to 98. Twenty-three villages have been removed from Idukki, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad and Palakkad.
A delegation will be held in Delhi by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan to understand the press’s view of the case. Keralam is considering a final notification. All the notifications issued from 2014 to 2016 have been drafted.
The government submitted the recommendations after examining the suggestions and objections raised by different stakeholders, including organisations, elected representatives and local bodies. Mr Joseph agrees that the recommendations have the capability of addressing problems related to the ESA.
Keralam Minister agrees that the population of the state is dense compared to the relatively small size of the state and massive forest cover. The forest cover is 29.15% of the total area. The State has urged the Centre to limit the ESA to forest. The Minister further added that changes to the law or any reforms to the stringent laws ensuring that forests are protected will affect the wetlands, paddy lands and the lives of the people and agriculture economy of the state.
Previous cases raised
Keralam In 2013 the K. Kasturirangan Committee suggested the ESA be 13,108sq km. Include 123 villages. That suggestion sparked protests. Later the Oommen V. Oommen Committee raised the village count to 131 because of a split. The total area stayed the same. The proposal set 9,107sq km as forest, reducing the forest area from 9,993.7 sq km. The remaining 886.7 sq km was set as non-forest.
The last proposal was drafted on 27th July 2027, proposing to limit the ESA to 8,590 sq km. Farmlands, plantations and populated areas were excluded. The seventh proposal was not accepted.
Tapti River valley is the starting point for the Western Ghats, located on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, extending south to Kanyakumari. The area includes Goa, Karnataka, and Keralam. The region is considered the world’s eighth hottest biodiversity spot. Some parts of Goa can be utilised for settlements, real estate and industrial projects. However, the ESA or the implementation of the proposal, restricts industrial projects in permitted areas.
Finalising the ESA is an immediate need to ensure the prevention of unchecked development. Fragmentation of biodiversity can affect wildlife populations and lead to high mortality rates and disruption of genetic exchange. Additional projects can have consequences on water availability. Finalising the ESA will lead to better management of human-animal conflict.
Twitter post:
Kerala has urged the Centre to cap the Western Ghats’ Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) at 8,590 sq km, restricting it to forest regions.
The state also wants populated areas, farmlands and plantations excluded, reducing the number of ESA villages from 131 to 98.
#WesternGhats #ESA #Kerala #Environment #MoEFCC
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