Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 15 (PTI) Farmers’ land will not be forcibly taken over under environmentally sensitive laws and any acquisition, if required, will be done only after providing compensation, Keralam Forest Minister Shibu Baby John assured farmers’ organisations here on Tuesday.
The minister also said the state would press the Centre to limit the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) to 98 villages and make sure that human settlements, agricultural land and plantation areas are completely kept out of the ESA limits.
John gave the assurance during a meeting with representatives of farmers’ organisations from the hilly and forest-border regions to discuss human-wildlife conflict and other issues affecting farmers.
He said this while farmers’ organisations raised concerns over the implementation of the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act, during the meeting.
“The government will protect the interests of genuine farmers. However, there will be no compromise with encroachers,” the minister said, adding that farmers themselves should identify and isolate encroachers.
The minister said compensation paid to farmers for crop losses and other damages caused by wildlife attacks would be substantially increased and steps would be taken to ensure that it reached them without delay.
A vision document prepared after consultations with MPs, MLAs, panchayat presidents, farmers’ organisations and environmental groups from forest-border areas was also presented at the meeting.
The government plans to strengthen afforestation, restore grasslands and natural forests and create water sources inside forests through solar pumps and rainwater pits to help control the movement of wild animals, John said.
Kerala’s forest borders would also get a strengthened security system, with a three-tier arrangement planned at wildlife conflict hotspots.
An artificial intelligence-based audio-visual system would be introduced to drive away animals, while 25 new Rapid Response Teams and a drone squad would be deployed, he said.
The minister called for smart farming in forest-border areas to help farmers protect their crops and develop alternative sources of income. Cultivation of turmeric, ginger and lemon would be promoted as these crops are less likely to attract wild animals, he said.
“The department and farmers should work together,” John said, stressing that forest conservation and farmers’ welfare should go hand in hand.
He said waste dumping was one of the major factors attracting wild animals to human settlements and the Forest Department would work with the Local Self-Government Department to strengthen waste management.
The minister said 38 adalats had so far been held to address delays related to land No Objection Certificates and Rs 5.31 crore had been distributed as compensation through them. In the last 100 days, clearance work had been completed over 519 km, he said.
An order had also been issued allowing any person holding a valid gun licence to be appointed as a shooter for controlling wild boars, John said.
Farmers’ representatives at the meeting raised several other demands, including a review of delays in obtaining gun licences, declaring the boundary line as the official forest boundary and correcting the notification declaring Mankulam as a forest.
They also sought permission to use natural resources outside forest boundaries and demanded a carrying-capacity study in Idukki.
Representatives of various farmers’ organisations and Forest Department officials attended the meeting. PTI TGB ROH
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