The report by the Kasturirangan committee on the conservation of the Western Ghats has evoked strong opposition in the district. The district administration commenced the process of eliciting public opinion on the report on Wednesday. A total of 463 villages in the district have been identified by the committee for conservation activities. Deputy Commissioner VP. Ikkeri told presspersons the exercise will be held at two levels.
The meeting of Hosanagar Taluk Panchayat on Wednesday passed a resolution to demand that the State government reject the report. In the resolution, the members said the implementation of mega projects had resulted in large-scale displacement in the district. The implementation of the Kasturirangan panel report would result in another round of displacement, the members said. At the consultation meeting at Henni Grama Panchayat in Sagar taluk on Wednesday, residents strongly opposed the report. In the gram sabha at Hosahalli in Tirthahalli taluk, local people demanded that the government reject the report. Residents of Kotekoppa, Sampalli and Hirebilagunji villages staged a protest to express their ire.
Reacting to these developments, B.M. Kumaraswamy, ecologist and ex-member of the Western Ghats Task Force said that a section of politicians involved in sand extraction and stone crushing had created misconceptions among people. The report did not mention displacement of people who resided in the vicinity of the forest, he said.
