Agitation over ESAs likely to take high ranges to the brink again

October 16, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 01, 2016 06:14 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram:

The 12-hour hartal called by the United Democratic Front in Idukki and parts of Kottayam district on Saturday against the government stand on demarcation of Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the State has ratcheted up tension, threatening to bring the high ranges back on the boil.

The hartal evoked mixed response, with the High Range Action Council dissociating itself from the protest. But political observers feel that the situation could turn volatile if the UDF decided to go ahead with the stir. They pointed out that a renewed agitation would only benefit illegal quarries and stone crushers operating in environmentally fragile zones.

The UDF has launched the agitation against an affidavit filed by the government in the High Court. It alleges that the statement goes against the previous UDF regime’s decision to exclude human settlements and agricultural land from the ESAs earmarked by the Kasturirangan committee.

Records accessed by The Hindu reveal that the affidavit was filed by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) on a writ petition by the government challenging an order issued by a single judge to consider the application for environmental clearance for a granite quarry in Pathanamthita district. According to the affidavit, the judgement pronounced on March 2 would have far reaching consequences for the ecology and biodiversity of the State. Minutes of the meetings held by SEIAA reveal that the authority had consistently taken a position not to consider applications for quarries in the 123 villages earmarked by the Kasturirangan committee as ESA. It had delisted 12 such applications and secured a stay against a High Court direction to consider an application. The authority had stuck to the stand that applications for eco clearance could be considered only after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a final notification on ESAs in the States bordering the Westen Ghats.

The Kasturirangan committee had earmarked 13,108 sq km in 123 villages as ESA in Kerala.

Following widespread protests in the high range districts, the State government had convinced the MoEFCC to issue a draft notification excluding 3,117 sq km of settlements and agricultural land from the ESA.

However, SEIAA held that the draft notification had no relevance and hence could not be relied upon to issue an EC for quarries.

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