Kerala will campaign for notifying the revised proposals for eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around the protected areas, prepared after excluding populated areas and human habitations.
Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change asked the State government to clarify whether the revised proposals pending before it or the earlier ones could be considered for notification as ESZs.
The State government had earlier submitted revised proposals for ESZs around 15 protected areas to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change after making the ESZ of populated areas as zero in most cases. It had also kept the ESZ to the minimum level from the forest boundaries in areas where human habitations had come up. The State revised ESZ following widespread protest in human habitations located close to the forest boundaries. Incidentally, the revised proposals could not be finalised and notified as they lapsed after the 725-day validity period of the notifications expired.
