Environmental organisations have welcomed the recent Supreme Court order stating that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of minimum one-km starting from their demarcated boundaries.
Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti president N. Badusha said that his organisation welcomed the directive as it would not adversely affect the livelihood or sustainable development of traditional forest dwellers, tribespeople and farmers. The directive would ensure security and peace of mind for communities living on the forest fringes. Settler farmer organisations that were spreading baseless and misleading comments against the directive were the spokespersons of mining, tourism, quarry and construction sector lobbies, he alleged.
