The State government has endorsed the demand of local bodies to exclude human-inhabited areas from the proposed Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around Neyyar and Peppara wildlife sanctuaries.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, who convened a meeting of people’s representatives and senior Forest officials here on Friday, also assured local bodies to urge the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to review its draft notification by incorporating the revised proposals that were submitted last year.
According to him, the State government had excluded human habitations completely from its recommendations in 2021. While the draft notification has proposed to bring an area of 71.27 sq.km under the ESZ, the State had demanded that the extent be confined to 52.036 sq.km. This would limit the zone to those parts of the Amboori, Kallikkad, Vithura and Kuttichal grama panchayat that remained unoccupied. Besides, the tribal communities in these regions would be provided priority.
“While the MoEFCC received the revised proposal, it has evidently ignored the recommendations while preparing the draft notification. The State government will bring the issue to the notice of the Centre,” Mr. Saseendran said.
He assured the leaders of the civic bodies that the final notification would be issued only after addressing the concerns of the local populace. Amboori and Kallikkad grama panchayats had held hartals in protest against the provisions of the draft notification during the last few days.
The Minister also flagged the misinterpretation of the buffer zone of the protected areas that has paved the way for confusion among various sections. Wildlife sanctuaries are generally divided into core zone, buffer zone, and tourism zone for administrative purposes. While these areas come within the protected areas, the ESZ are designated in areas outside their periphery. He, however, pointed out that some tribal settlements were often found in buffer zones.
Parassala MLA C.K. Hareendran, Aruvikkara MLA G. Stephen, district panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar, Vithura panchayat president V.S. Baburaj, Kuttichal panchayat president G. Manikantan, Amboori panchayat president Valsala Raju, Kallikkad panchayat president Pantha Sreekumar, Forest Department Principal Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Chief Wildlife Warden Bennichen Thomas, Thiruvananthapuram Additional District Magistrate E. Muhammed Safeer, and Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Warden Suresh Babu, were present at the meeting.
