Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 The Keralam Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution requesting the Centre to accept the state’s revised proposal exempting an area of 8,590.69 sq km across 98 revenue villages from the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
The resolution was moved by Minister for Electricity, Environment and Parliamentary Affairs Sunny Joseph urging the Centre to issue the final ESA notification regarding the Western Ghats only after considering the revised proposal submitted by the Keralam government in order to safeguard the interests of the people of the state.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan said in the House that the UDF government has adopted the same stand as the previous LDF administration on the issue.
He said that in response to Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Pinarayi Vijayan’s contention that steps taken on the issue in the last 10 years by the previous Left government do not find mention in the resolution and suggested incorporating the same.
Joseph agreed to mention that the final proposal was the outcome of the work of the successive governments.
He also agreed to incorporate the suggestion of V Muraleedharan, the BJP MLA from Kazhakootam assembly seat, that the Centre has not issued the final notification to safeguard public interest.
Besides seeking approval of the revised proposal, the resolution also urged the Centre to ensure that the ESA regulations are not made applicable to areas outside the ESA limits.
It has also requested the central government to review the provisions concerning the ‘Red Category’ industries and allow for exemptions based on the unique circumstances of each case with regard to milk processing and manufacture of dairy products, slaughterhouses and meat processing units, Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and healthcare institutions using diesel generator systems with a capacity exceeding 5 MVA.
New healthcare institutions, pumped-storage hydroelectric projects and townships established over an area exceeding 50 hectares for the rehabilitation of people affected by any form of distress or disaster may also be considered for exemption, subject to all of them complying with the environmental laws and pollution control standards, and obtaining all necessary statutory clearances, Joseph said while reading out the resolution in the House.
The minister also sought exemption of the Cardamom Hill Reserve from the ESA due to its unique characteristics of long-standing cardamom cultivation, human habitation and existing infrastructure.
He sought that the area be exempted from additional restrictions as the region was already subject to various laws and regulations including the Travancore Cardamom Rules of 1935, the Rules for the Lease of Government Land for Cardamom Cultivation, 1961, and the Kerala Tree Preservation Act of 1986.
He requested the central government to issue the final notification regarding the ESA in Keralam in a manner that ensures the ecological integrity and long-term conservation of the Western Ghats, while simultaneously providing due protection for the livelihoods of the people of the state, the interests of farmers, traditional agricultural practices, human settlements, public health, and essential infrastructure development.
“To this end, the notification should completely exclude human settlements, agricultural lands, and plantations,” the resolution said.
Joseph said that the ESA notification process was initiated by the Gadgil Committee (2010) and the Kasturirangan Committee (2013), but still remains incomplete after more than a decade.
Initially, the ESA proposed to cover 13,108 square kilometres, encompassing 123 villages, but was later reduced to 9,993.7 square kilometres following amended proposals given by the Keralam government in 2014, he said.
The minister further said that the state was of the firm view that due to its unique topography, high population density and extensive forest cover, human settlements, agricultural lands, and plantations should be completely excluded from the purview of the ESA.
He also said that since forest areas, natural habitats, farmlands, plantations, human settlements, commercial zones, and infrastructure often coexist within the same revenue village, it cannot be assumed that the entire area of a village shares a uniform ecological character.
“Consequently, the state government unequivocally emphasises the necessity of restricting ESA-related regulations exclusively to the boundaries of the ecologically sensitive zones, as determined through scientific assessment,” he said in the House.
(PTI News)
