The Kerala government has decided to suspend all activities meant to notify nearly 365 hectares of land in Chinnakkanal in Idukki as a reserve forest.
The move to freeze a gazette notification issued by the Forest department on September 20 for the purpose follows stiff opposition from farmers organisations and the local community, which fear that the action will put stringent restrictions on various activities.
The government also understandably chose to stave off a snowballing controversy as the Navakerala Sadas, the mass outreach programme led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, neared the high-range district.
Minister’s stand
According to Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary V. Venu and attended by senior officials of the Forest and Revenue departments here on Monday, resolved to suspend the proceedings in the wake of the implementation of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023.
While forestlands that had been converted for non-forest purposes on or before December 12, 1996 do not come under the purview of the law, the Supreme Court recently directed the Centre to frame guidelines for the purpose. All proceedings relating to declaring Chinnakkanal as a forest reserve have been put off until the guidelines have been prepared.
Through the preliminary notification, the Forest department had initiated steps to declare 364.89 hectares of land, given to Hindustan Newsprint Limited (HNL) on lease until 2020 to grow eucalyptus for producing paper pulp, as a reserve forest.
Biodiversity-rich
The region, which forms the catchment area of the Anayirangal dam, is biodiversity-rich and home to several flora and fauna, especially elephants. The proposal to declare the land as a reserve forest was aimed at preserving the natural wealth, the department had maintained.
Forest officials claimed that the protests were unwarranted since they were triggered by a misinterpretation of the initial notification. Contrary to public perception, the proposed reserve will not include the populated areas of 301 Colony, Sinkukandam, Cement Palam, and Suryanelli.
