Rebuilding Kerala should involve local communities, noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has said.
The estimated loss of ₹26,000 crore is that of man-made capital. Kerala should lead the way in safeguarding and rebuilding the natural, human and social capital along with man-made capital, he said.
The solution lies in people’s campaign for inclusive development and conservation, said Prof. Gadgil.
Terming Environmental Impact Assessment reports as “doctored documents” for proposed developmental projects, he said it should be mandatory to take inputs from properly constituted biodiversity board to assess a project. Kerala should stop practices of development by exclusion, he observed.
Prof Gadgil said: “Prima facie, the simultaneous release of water from the dams seems to be the reason to have caused the floods.” The policy of dam management says that the reservoir should be full only at the end of the monsoon. However, here the reservoirs were full in the middle of the monsoon, he said. “The engineers should know how much water should be released from the dam and when. It is essential to have all the data in the public domain.”
