‘Political decisions vital for eco-conservation’

Lecture highlights Indira Gandhi’s role in Silent Valley movement

Jairam Ramesh.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s role in the Save Silent Valley movement shows that there is no substitute for political decision-making in environmental conservation, former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh has said.

Contemporary environmental movements, including the ongoing protest against the ban on jallikkattu, have much to learn from this aspect, he said.

Public lecture

Mr. Ramesh was delivering a public lecture titled ‘Indira Gandhi and Silent Valley Revisited’ at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Ulloor. While the civil society, media, academia and expert committees had played a significant role in the events that led to the scrapping of the hydroelectric project at the Silent Valley forest reserve in Palakkad and the establishment of the Silent Valley National Park in 1984, it was Ms. Gandhi’s political perseverance that determined the final outcome, he said.

On the occasion, Mr. Ramesh released a book titled ‘Globalisation, Development and Plantation Labour in India’, a collection of essays edited by K.J. Joseph, Acting Director, CDS, and P.K. Viswanathan, Associate Professor at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.