Adivasi families near Chinnakanal in Idukki district have demanded shelving of the proposed Anayirankal national park project. They have threatened to launch a protest if their demand was not met.
At a press conference held here on Friday, the families were unequivocal in their protest against the proposed project, which they alleged threatened their eviction from the areas near Anayirankal dam. A convention against the project, which they said posed threats to both wildlife and Adivasis alika, would be held at Chinnakanal in the first week of July.
Around 1,254 hectares comprising of 276 hectares of Adivasi settlements, the revenue land in the possession of Hindustan News Print along the Anayirankal dam, and adjoining areas in Shola forests are to be converted for the proposed national park.
The families alleged that while it would result in the eviction of tribal families along Chinnakanal, the 100-odd resorts in the area would be spared. A total of 529 tribal families, who were assigned land as part of tribal rehabilitation in 2002, face eviction.
Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) leader M. Geethanandan alleged that though the Forest department cited providing a safe zone for elephants as the objective of the proposed project, it wasn’t backed by any scientific environment study and was aimed at protecting business interests.
He alleged that ₹300 crore received as part of a proposal submitted to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) for the eviction of tribals remains the capital for the project. Tribal families also wondered whether KIIFB funds could be used for the illegal eviction of Adivasis.
They dubbed tusker Arikomban as the victim of the anti-environment forest management of the Forest department. They warned that similar fate awaits other elephants if the national park was to be carved out artificially. The electric fences of resorts posed grave danger to elephants looking for water.
The project should be abandoned in view of the skewed forest management of the forest department thus saving both the tribal families and wild elephants alike. The families are gearing up to submit a memorandum to the authorities, including Forest Minister, raising this demand.
