Buffer zone: Ministers meet Bishop in bid to assuage Church

Thiruvananthapuram: In an effort to mitigate or maybe lessen the blow from the likely protests that are to mushroom on Kerala's high ranges over the proposed eco-sensitive zones, ministers Roshy Augustine and Antony Raju met with Cardinal Baselios Cleemis on Tuesday to assure the latter that the State does not intend to lock horns with the Church.

The development comes in the wake of Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil's statement on Sunday that stopped just short of calling the farmers of the region to war with the Kerala government. Inchananiyil alleged a conspiracy behind the satellite survey conducted in the high ranges, a precursor to the setting up of eco-sensitive zones (buffer zones). 

"The report should have been prepared considering the peculiarities of each place and the concerns of the people there. The map has been published ignoring the demands put forward by the farmers completely. This is highly objectionable," the bishop said. He said he doubted whether the LDF government was thinking of leaving people in the lurch.

Farmers, locals and other stakeholders have all alleged that the setting up of this 1-kilometre buffer zone along protected forests will impact lakhs of families, besides religious and educational institutions.

"As long as we're alive, we will not allow this to be implemented in the high ranges," the bishop said.

"If someone sets foot here with the intention of making it work, rest assured, we who shed our sweat on this land can also bleed," the bishop warned.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader MLA Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said the State government has cheated the farmers on the buffer zone issue.

"The government has taken an anti-farmer stand on this issue from the beginning," he said.

Demanding the withdrawal of the report on the satellite survey of the Eco-sensitive zones around the wildlife sanctuaries, he said the document was riddled with errors.

"The forest minister is not clear about submitting the report to the Supreme Court. He makes one statement in the morning, only to retract it in the evening. The Chief Minister should clarify this matter. The concerns of the Church on the issue should also be taken seriously," said the former Opposition leader, who also beckoned the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government to shed its false pride.

With Congress now throwing in its hat with the lot, the region is likely to see widespread protests in the coming days.

It was in June that the Supreme Court directed the setting up of buffer zones in the country. The Kerala government was slated to table a report before the apex court after the survey.