Idukki is set for another prolonged agitation seeking the exclusion of non-forest areas from the land notified as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the State.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) has called for a district-level hartal on March 4 and the Kerala Congress (M) is planning a series of agitations on the issue.
According to a draft notification issued in September 2015, the ESAs in the State cover 9,993.7 sq km in 123 villages, of which 9,107 sq km is notified as forest and 886.7 sq km as non-forest. The date for the draft notification of the Western Ghats report will expire on March 4.
The High Level Working Group (HLWG) led by K. Kasturirangan had earmarked 13,108 sq km across the 123 villages as ESAs. Following widespread protests and political turmoil, the State government had proposed the exclusion of 3,117 sq km of human settlements and agricultural land from ESAs.
In a press release, UDF district convener S. Ashokan demanded that the Union government release the final notification before March 4. He said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had done nothing to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
Mr. Ashokan said the UDF government-appointed Oommen V. Oommen panel did take efforts to allay the fears of the people and it was demanded that inhabited areas, plantations and agriculture lands be exempted from the purview of the ESA.
Joice George, MP and leader of the Highrange Protection Council, criticised the Congress for doing nothing to protect the farmers. The UDF had lost its relevance by calling for a hartal while it had done nothing to mitigate the sufferings of the people when it was ruling the Centre and the State.
ESAs are in between cultivated areas, plantations or people-inhabited areas. It gave the impression that there were only ESAs and the control over land usage remained there.
