Buffer zone: Kerala to seek more time

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government will approach the Supreme Court seeking more time to submit a preliminary report of the satellite survey done to demarcate Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ).

The state plans to submit a special application before the apex court for this after doubts were raised over the timely completion of measures initiated on the matter.

The effort of the State Government is to obtain an exemption in ESZ restrictions with regard to the thickly populated regions of the buffer zone.

The case will be considered in the second week of next month. Before that, the court will take up the Centre’s case.

The Central Government had filed a review petition against an earlier court verdict declaring a mandatory one-km buffer zone around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.

The State on Thursday released a draft map prepared by the Forest department in 2020-21, demarcating the one-km buffer zone around its 22 wildlife sanctuaries. It has given time till January seven to add structures erroneously omitted and receive complaints from the public.

Along with assorting the complaints and handing them over to the respective Local Self Governments, the State has decided to conduct site examinations directly. The officials are of the opinion that more time is needed to satisfactorily carry out the process.

The State fears of a setback from the Supreme Court upon submitting an unclear, incomplete and faulty satellite survey report, which prompted it to seek more time from the court. The apex court, in its June 3 order, had directed the State to submit the satellite survey report in three months.

Measures not to be completed before stipulated time frame: minister

The State will have to defend itself, when the case comes up for hearing next month, on the court direction to timely submit the preliminary satellite survey report. It intends to inform the court that the report is ready and request more time to include additional information. It will also cite that the exercise of revising the draft map prepared by the state forest department is progressing and that a preliminary report is ready. The Government intends to submit the report as of now.

Minister A K Saseendran told ‘Manorama’ that the Government expects half of the final report works to be completed within the allotted time and is planning to inform the same to the court. A final decision will be taken after discussing the matter with the Advocate General and its lawyers in the Supreme Court.

17,554 complaints till Saturday
The Forest department received a total of 17,554 complaints with regard to the draft map as of 7 pm on Saturday. Out of this, 15,054 are e-mails.

The authorities handed over 3000 of the complaints to the local self-government institutions. Six officials have been specially deployed to assort the complaints. Two of the officials will work even on Sunday, a holiday.

Buffer zone help desks not fully functional; protests intensify

Meanwhile, the Opposition and various farmers' organizations are intensifying protests on the ESZ issue. They held protest marches to panchayat offices and forest department offices in some places. There are calls for such stirs even on the Christmas day today.

This comes even as the panchayat help desks to receive complaints are yet to become fully functional at many places. More help desks will be set up on Monday and Tuesday. Many are backtracking from filing complaints due to the non-availability of survey numbers.

The situation in various panchayats:

Kottayam
A hunger strike will be held at Angelvalley Pallipadi from 10 am to 5 pm under the leadership of the Congress Poonjar Assembly Committee. Senior leader Ramesh Chennithala will visit the buffer zone regions on December 27. The anti-buffer zone committee has stopped its protests for two days based on an assurance given by the panchayat authorities.

Idukki
A rally led by SNDP Yogam Youth Movement was held in Kattappana. General Secretary Vellappally Natesan warned that the SNDP will take over the protests upon the government failing to take immediate measures.

Thiruvananthapuram
The work of setting up help desks in panchayats falling under the Neyyar-Peppara wildlife sanctuaries is progressing.

Kollam
A direct site inspection will be held at Aryankavu panchayat from tomorrow. A help desk will be functional at Thenmala tomorrow. A protest march, led by Punalur, Anchal UDF block committees, will be held to the Shendurney wildlife sanctuary office on January five.

Pathanamthitta
A help desk will be opened in Gavi. A data collection exercise will be carried out in Attathodu.

The people at Tulapally, Kisumam, Nellimala regions are collecting complaints to submit them to the commission. A protest march was held to the Chittar forest station under the leadership of the Chittar Congress Assembly Committee.

Palakkad
The Forest and Local Self departments have received 3500 complaints over buffer zone from people in Parambikulam, Silent Valley, and Choolannur regions.

The process to set up help desks will be completed tomorrow. An all-party meeting was held in Nelliyampathy, Peringottukurussi, and Agali panchayats.

Malappuram
Various farmers' organizations will lead a ‘pichachatti’ (begging bowl) protest in Karuvarakundu panchayat.

Kozhikode
A meeting held by the Chakkittapara panchayat governing body has decided to seek advice from Advocate General on approaching the Supreme Court on the matter. A ‘peoples map’ excluding all human habitation regions was rolled out by the Kerala Karshaka Athijeevana Samyuktha Samiti. The direct inspection of the areas under the buffer zone has begun.

Kannur
The farmers' organizations are continuing protests at Kelakam and Kottiyur.

A march was held to Kottiyur village office under the leadership of ‘Karshaka Congress’ and another by the Kerala Independent Farmers Association to Kelakam panchayat office.

The wildlife warden and Revenue officials were summoned to a meeting held by the Kottiyur panchayat governing body to seek more information regarding the draft map.