In the memorandum submitted to the ministry by CA Subbaiah, the president of the Association, the members allege that the draft notification readied by the HLWG of the Western Ghats is not based on factual data.
Western Ghats (Representative Image)
Madikeri :
The Kodagu District Small Growers’ Association has submitted a memorandum to the Central Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change opposing the High Level Working Group (HLWG) report on the Western Ghats (WG).
The growers have objected to the draft notification for creating an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the Western Ghats as they allege that the criteria to identify the ESAs have not been done factually.
In the memorandum submitted to the ministry by CA Subbaiah, the president of the Association, the members allege that the draft notification readied by the HLWG of the Western Ghats is not based on factual data. The memorandum explains that the ESA has been recognized in areas with high biological richness with low and medium fragmentation where the population density is lower than 100 persons per square kilometer.
However, in the memorandum, the growers share that ‘the inhabitants of the WG are compelled to suffer regulations under the proposed draft notification’.
The association alleges that the Karnataka state government has not woken up to the ground realities and has not initiated attempts at the panchayat level to assess implications of implementing the proposed ESAs.
“While global climate change is a grave matter and has to be treated at the national level, it is not fit that only a part of the population in the country has to bear the burden of mitigating the challenge,” alleges the association.
While the growers state that they have no reservations for the prohibition on establishment of heavy industries, mining, thermal and other commercial projects, they demand that the locals be allowed to extract stone and sand for their own needs. Further, the association opposes the concession given to hotels/hospitality set-ups to continue functioning at ESAs if they have waste water setups as the growers opine that this is ‘pandering to cooperate and capital interests’.
While the forum acknowledges the Wayanad disaster in Kerala, they share that faulty execution of development projects without proper consideration of geological factors as the reason for the disaster.
“The responsibility of environmental degradation and habitat loss vests with the government and corporate. Mining, industries, large power projects etc were not set up by the inhabitants of Western Ghats. The forest bureaucracy and the mainstream environmental NGOs are solely responsible for the state of affairs in the Western Ghats and this needs to be corrected,” demands the association through the memorandum submitted to the central ministry.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Karnataka / by Pragna G R / September 25th, 2024
