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Loopholes in ecology expert panel suggestions

The state may not be able to make use of land and resources available in 42 out of 63 taluks for development as they have been categorised as ecologically sensitive zones by the panel chaired by Madhav Gadgil. The report submitted by the committee in August last year is now under the consideration of Federal Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The panel has divided the 42 taluks in Kerala into ESZ 1, 2 and 3. In all 14 taluks lying in close proximity to Western Ghats come under ESZ 1, where the WGEEP has proposed a ban on the use of private forest land for non-forest purpose or agricultural activity and new dams based on large-scale storage. The immediate casualty of this will be the Athirapally hydro-electric power project proposed by the state government in Trichur district to bridge the widening gap between the demand and supply of power in the state. The state will also may not be able to tap the hydel resources available in Idukki, since most areas in the hilly district comes under ESZ 1.

The only consolation is that the Gadgil panel has not proposed any ban on extending village settlements and expanding road and public infrastructure in these 14 taluks to accommodate increase in population. However, such expansion will be possible only with a nod from the MoEF.

No new construction activity will be allowed in the ESZ 2, under which the four taluks come. However, it allows renovation and expansion of existing structures such as hotels and resorts. ESZ-3 allows change in the use of land from agriculture to non-agriculture purposes subject to permission from the relevant authorities, who will accord sanction after looking into various socio-economic parameters of the area. Twenty-four taluks bordering Western Ghats come under this category.

Another significant recommendation of the WGEEP is formation of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), a statutory body vested with the powers under the Environment (Protection) Act, spread across 142 taluks in six states.

The proposed authority will function in a networked fashion with six constituent State Western Ghats Ecology Authorities, appointed jointly by the State Governments and the MoEF.

The state government has rejected the WGEEP proposals, especially the one related to the formation of the separate authority, saying that it will diminish the land available for development. A letter written to the MoEF said that the zoning made uniformly applicable for all the six Western Ghats states was detrimental to the interest of the state with a very high density of population.

The average number of dwellings per sq. km. in Kerala is about 110. Compared to the national average, one unit of land in Kerala has to sustain 3.6 times population and as a result every unit of land has to produce 3.6 times more food and biological mass.

The pressure for land has already led to rampant encroachment into the forests and reclamation of wetlands in several parts of the state. The state argued that the Gadgil Committee had not taken into consideration the special situation prevailing in the state while making the recommendations. The letter to MoEF said that there was no need for a separate authority to protect the environment in Kerala as the people were environmentally sensitive and were better watchdogs against environmental degradation.— news@khaleejtimes.com