Thiruvananthapuram/ Idukki, Sep 25 (PTI) Keralam has sought publication of the final notification on the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area, confined to forest land and excluding inhabited areas, farmland and plantations, state Environment Minister Sunny Joseph said on Friday.
The state submitted its report to the Centre on Thursday, a day before the deadline for submitting suggestions and objections to the seventh draft ESA notification issued on July 27, he told a press conference here.
The report was submitted by Environment Secretary M G Rajamanickam, he said.
Joseph said the state had sought that the ESA be confined to forest areas, with inhabited areas, agricultural land and plantations completely excluded.
The minister said Keralam had already succeeded in reducing the ESA proposed under the Kasturirangan report from 13,108 square kilometres to 9,993.7 sq km.
Of the 9,993.7 sq km covered by the existing proposal, 9,107 sq km is forest area and 886.7 sq km is non-forest area.
“If the 886.7 sq km of non-forest area is also excluded, our concern would be fully addressed,” he said.
“Keralam’s demand is to publish this as the final notification. That means inhabited areas, agricultural land and plantations should be completely excluded, and the ESA should be confined to forest land,” Joseph said.
The state has also sought to reduce the number of villages covered by the ESA from the present 131 to 98 and limit its extent to 8,590.69 sq km.
Joseph said the latest report had been prepared by completely excluding inhabited areas, agricultural land and plantations.
He said Keralam was a state with limited land area and high population density and already had stringent laws, including the Forest Acts and the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act.
“Bringing another law over and above these would affect the state’s development, agricultural activities and people’s lives,” he said.
The minister said the state would take further steps if necessary, including moving a resolution in the Assembly when it convenes next month.
A delegation led by Chief Minister V D Satheesan would also visit New Delhi and meet the concerned Union ministers, if necessary, he said.
Later in the day, while addressing various programmes in the hill district of Idukki, Satheesan assured people that there was no need for any apprehension over the identification of Ecologically Sensitive Areas.
He said the government would ensure that no inhabited areas were included in the ESA.
“Discussions were held with the team that came from the Centre. The report related to the ESA was submitted to the Centre before the deadline. Steps will now be taken to go to Delhi and finalise it. There is no need for any tension,” Satheesan said.
The CM said no village would be entirely designated as an ESA.
“The government has made its position clear that if there is forest in a village, only that area can be included in the ESA and inhabited areas cannot be included,” he said.
Satheesan said arrangements had been made to publish a map soon, clearly demarcating the ESA areas, which would enable people to ascertain whether their land falls within the designated areas.
“By looking at the map of a village, it will be possible to identify the forest area and the inhabited areas. A precise map indicating these areas will also be published,” he said.
The CM said the various issues faced by farmers in Idukki would be studied comprehensively and steps taken to resolve them. PTI LGK SSK
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