The massive destruction of rare mangrove forests for kaipad or pokkli farming has raised concern among the public and environmentalists in Kannur district.
On Thursday, the eve of World Environment Day, members of the Kallen Pookkudan Mangrove Tree Trust and the Kannur District Environment Committee staged a protest in front of the Collectorate and met District Collector T.V. Subhash seeking his immediate intervention to stop the destruction of mangroves under the guise of ‘Oru Nellum Oru Meenum’ farming project.
P. Anandan, member of trust, said the district had the highest density of mangrove forests in the State, which were mostly on private lands. The trees, some of them rare species, were being cut down mindlessly by some persons under the guise of kaipad cultivation.
“Just in recent times, over 40 acres of mangrove trees have been uprooted using earth movers at Thavam in Cherukunnu panchayat,” he said. This was being done to prepare the land for kaipad farming. A Detailed Project Report submitted to the government cites it as a traditional farming method but efforts are on to introduce hybrid seeds recently introduced by the Regional Agriculture Research Station, Peelicode, he said.
Vinod Payyada, environmental activist and member of the environment committee, alleged that the clearing of mangrove forests was taking place with the knowledge of panchayat authorities. He said vast tracts of land with mangrove trees had already been cleared at Pattuvam, Cherukkunu, and Ezhoham.
He said such activities were being carried out under the Oru Nellum Oru Meenum project implemented by the Agency for Development of Aquaculture Kerala. This was meant to ensure additional income to kaipad farmers.
However, people with vested interests who were not dependent on farming for their livelihood were behind the project. They were eyeing the subsidy amount given to kaipad farmers and trying to change the character of the land. The aim was to convert the land into prime real estate for the construction of hotels and other establishments, the greens alleged.
Singficantly, the destruction is taking place at a time when the government is yet to fulfil its promise of acquiring private mangrove forests and handing them over to the Ministry of Environment and Forests to declare them as Reserve Forests.
In 2002, a deal was signed under which mangrove forests would be given to the Forest Department in return for using 7,693.22 hectares of forestland to rehabilitate tribespeople in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, and Wayanad. However, even after 18 years, the agreement remains on paper.
A senior forest officer said 496 hectares of mangroves in Kannur district still remained in private hands. Seventy-five per cent of mangrove tracts in the State is in Kannur. Mangrove forests would fall under the Coastal Regulatory Act 1(A) and no construction or development could be carried out in the area, he pointed out.
