A final decision on declaring the vast area of wetlands in Mavoor is yet to come from the government though years have passed after the submission of a proposal in this regard by the Mavoor grama panchayat authorities. The conservation of nearly 500 acres of wetland will be at stake if the decision is delayed.
Deepa Puliyappuram, president of Mavoor grama panchayat, said the panchayat was yet to receive any intimation from the government though the Kerala State Bio-Diversity Board (KSBB) officials had almost okayed the project after visiting the site. “We were asked to wait until a meeting of the Bio-Diversity Board, but, we were not informed of the status on the proposal,” she said.
The local self-gevernment institution head also pointed out that there were no intimations from the Forest Department on giving the final nod to the project through there were some unconfirmed reports on the same. “If they had visited the site and given the green signal, the panchayat would have definitely been informed,” she clarified.
The grama panchayat authorities said the proposal, with comprehensive details on various conservation drives and eco-friendly developments in the area, was expected to be approved fast as per an earlier intimation received from the KSBB. Their representatives had even visited the panchayat recently to study it in detail, they said.
The main goal of the community reserve project, according the grama panchayat authorities, is to conserve the vast area of wetland from human encroachment, unauthorised levelling, and dumping of solid wastes. “We had been ready with the proposal long back, but, the decision to declare it as community reserve was lagging behind,” they claimed.
As per the existing conservation plan, the panchayat would never take hold of the existing private land in the project area and draw public criticism on the issue. With the community reserve status, we mainly try to sustain the greenery in the area, prevent destructive practices of hampering the visit of migratory birds and promote eco-friendly development programmes, they explained.
For supporting some eco friendly ventures, the people in the region would be encouraged to take up fish farming and suitable paddy cultivation initiatives with the financial support of the government. The kole land development models adopted in other parts of the States too would be taken into consideration in the case of the swamp in Mavoor.
Though some environmental organisations had expressed concern over the planned developmental programme in the region, panchayat authorities had clarified that it would not hamper the existing eco-system as propagated by some segments. We would adopt here only methods that were experimented successfully in similar locations, they added.
