Environmentalists have flayed the State government’s decision to oppose the draft notification of the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in Western Ghats stating that politicians are safeguarding their vested interests on the pretext of protecting people’s rights.
The government and the political parties have also been accused of stoking fears through misinformation that people living in the Western Ghats area would be subjected to untold restrictions.
‘For people’s good’
Col. C.P. Muthanna (retd) of Coorg Wildlife Society said the ESA could have served to protect the catchment area of the rivers in the absence of which they were being destroyed resulting in floods, landslips etc. The recurrence of floods and the increase in landslips in hills and mountains are an indication of the imperatives of ESA but the government is fighting it instead of taking measures to implement it, he added.
‘’Both the Madhav Gadgil Report and the Kasturirangan Report are products of processes initiated by the Government of India and is for the good of the people. The latter is a diluted version of the former and yet it was being rejected on the grounds that it is anti-people which is false,’’ said Mr. Muthanna.
Incidentally, the Western Ghats Task Force Chairman Ravi Kushalappa stated recently that against 33% of forest cover, the State has less than 20% at present. Hence he had underlined the imperatives of saving the Western Ghats on the grounds that it was source of the rivers, pointing out that the ravages of flood and landslips being witnessed in the State should serve as a warning of the negative fallout of environmental destruction.
‘People being misled’
Meanwhile, activists have rued that people were being misled into believing that they would be evicted from their villages in case the ESA is implemented and elected representatives cutting across all political parties and vested interest groups are working overtime to instill fear.
The ESA draft notification only bans quarrying, mining besides highly polluting industries or establishing any new thermal power plants against which there is public opposition anyway, according to the environmentalists.
‘’What the draft notification says is what is commonly known even to high school students about the negative impact of quarrying and deforestation. Yet, canards have been spread in Kodagu that people would be evicted, there will be restrictions on plantation, one cannot leave ones house after 6 p.m.,’’ said Mr. Muthanna.
Another justification for opposing the ESA is that it will hinder ‘’development’’ in villages and environmentalists have challenged the government to specify a single example of such hindrance.
A perception also has gained currency among public that the ESA was being opposed as it will cut off source of income for politicians across party lines that accrues to them through so-called infrastructure works like railways, roads, resorts, tourism development etc.
Alluding to it, Mr.Joseph Hoover, an activist and a former member of State Board for Wildlife, said it was common knowledge that those opposing the ESA have huge land holdings in eco-sensitive areas while some have quarries and others have resorts and have made huge investments.
‘’Without reading or understanding the notification, our elected representatives are misinforming people living in the Western Ghats region about them losing their land and livelihood. We are in the midst of a climate crisis with extreme climate events battering us virtually every day,’’ said Mr. Hoover.
