Thiruvananthapuram
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government faced off in the Assembly over the Supreme Court's decision to impose an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) within one kilometre radius of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the previous LDF administration had "mindlessly" agreed to the Centre's proposal to keep the buffer zone free of development, construction, agriculture and human habitation.
At a stroke, the LDF had cast 2.5 lakh families, mostly settler farmers, into an uncertain epoch of uncertainty.
The ruling front’s “unthinking” action led to the apex court verdict on June 3. The apex court order dangles like the sword of Damocles over nearly 20 townships and more than 2.5 lakh farmland. “The irony is that the CPI(M) called a hartal against its government’s callous 2019 decision”.
The government's failure to circumvent the Supreme Court order had precipitated a palpable sense of uneasiness in Kerala, given its expansive forest cover. In contrast, in 2013, the Oommen Chandy government had proposed that the Centre should exempt human habitations and farmlands from the ESZ regulations.
Congress legislator Sunny Joseph, who moved the motion to adjourn the House to discuss the pressing issue, accused the government of failing to present Kerala's case properly in the Supreme Court. He said several States had secured an exemption from the ESZ.
The LDF government had not diligently addressed the Centre's 2018 preliminary notification about the proposal. The LDF's cumulative failures had pushed Kerala into its current predicament.
Forest Minister A. K. Saseendran accused the Opposition of obfuscating facts. He said the Oommen Chandy government had proposed a "crippling" zero to 12 kilometre wide buffer zone around forests.
Mr. Satheesan said the Minister was distorting facts for political expediency. “The said provision was only for uninhabited stretches around forests and not for human habitation as the Minister claimed,” he said.
Mr. Saseendran said the LDF government had whittled down the UDF's proposal. It proposed that the Centre limit the buffer zone to zero to one kilometre. The government would seek total exemption from the ESZ. It would appeal against the apex court's decision via the Central Empowered Committee and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The UDF, later, walked out of the House after Speaker M.B. Rajesh rejected the Opposition's demand for an adjournment debate.
