Kerala to make fresh push to keep 33 villages out of Western Ghats ESA limits
Kerala seeks to exclude 33 inhabited villages from the Western Ghats ESA, citing high population density and long-standing settlements, which contradicts the Centre's stance to include most areas.
Kerala seeks to exclude 33 inhabited villages from the Western Ghats ESA, citing high population density and long-standing settlements, which contradicts the Centre's stance to include most areas.
Kerala seeks to exclude 33 inhabited villages from the Western Ghats ESA, citing high population density and long-standing settlements, which contradicts the Centre's stance to include most areas.
Thiruvananthapuram: With the final notification on the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the Western Ghats due later this month, Kerala will be making another push to keep 33 inhabited villages out of the conservation zone.
The Centre has maintained that, barring the Palakkad Gap, no part of the Western Ghats can be excluded from the ESA. A Central team reiterated this stand at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
The state, however, maintains that the ESA should be confined to forest areas. While the State reiterated this position at the meeting, it will also submit its stand in a detailed report and is considering sending a delegation to New Delhi for another round of discussions with the Centre.
The Centre said in its July 27 draft notification that the final notification would be issued within 60 days. Kerala, meanwhile, had sought in a letter submitted on November 2 last year to restrict the ESA to 8,590.69 sq km across 98 villages.
The main disagreement between the two sides centres on certain areas in Idukki. The Centre has pointed out that excluding some villages in Udumbanchola taluk would disrupt the continuity of the ESA across the Western Ghats.
In response to the Centre's demand for reasons to exclude 33 villages, Kerala has cited the State's high population density and the long history of human settlements in these areas. In Idukki, for instance, people were settled in cardamom-growing areas nearly a century ago with government support. The State maintains that imposing fresh environmental restrictions on such long-inhabited areas would be unacceptable.
Kerala has based its case on the findings of the Kasturirangan and Oommen V Oommen reports, in addition to subsequent district-level inspections and recommendations from local bodies. These formed the basis for the State's latest proposal to restrict the ESA to 8,590.69 sq km. The Centre's draft notification, however, covers 9,993.7 sq km across 131 villages.
If the Centre agrees to revise the proposed boundaries, a fresh draft notification may have to be issued.