State’s report on ESA categorisation draws flak

Western Ghats People’s Protection Committee threatens to resume mass protests

(FILE PHOTO)

The Western Ghats People’s Protection Committee (WGPPC) has accused the State government of cold-shouldering the concerns of farmers in northern Kerala while submitting the revised report to the Central government, suggesting the exclusion of 31 villages in southern districts during the implementation of the Kasturi Rangan report.

Leaders of the committee alleged that no consultation with the people in the northern districts of the State was held ahead of submitting the final report.

Displacement

A leader of the committee said some people’s representatives and politicians were supporting the speedy submission of the State government’s report without any concern for thousands of settler farmers in the rest of the villages. The Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) categorisation, if implemented as suggested by the State government, would displace them from their land, he claimed.

The committee said no farmer organisation representatives or the leaders of agitating landholders in the listed villages were invited for a discussion while finalising the State government’s stance.

They alleged that the government was deceiving those who had fought for the rights of people in northern Kerala villages.

Only four districts, Kottayam, Thiruvanathapuram, Pathanamthitta and Palakkad, will get favourable consideration in the final ESA categorisation on the basis of the State government’s report. The committee leaders said even forest land in 31 villages within the four districts would be out of the ESA category if the State’s report was considered.

Flaying the government’s “casual approach”, the WGPPC leaders said the lives of people in the rest of the 92 villages in Kerala would be affected if the report was considered for implementation by the Union government. They pointed out that the population density in the neglected villages was very high, and the impact of enforcing ESA regulations on landholders in the area would be severe.

The committee leadership made it clear that they would resume mass protests enlisting the support of all affected families in northern Kerala region.