Letter to BS: The Kerala debacle should be an eye-opener for all

The article “Kerala’s floods and the Gadgil dilemma’’ by Nitin Sethi (August 28) was a thought-provoking analysis. In the aftermath of the havoc played by the rains and the consequent flooding in Kerala, the Gadgil Committee recommendations have gained prominence. The six states that would have been impacted by the Gadgil Committee recommendations, were not keen on wholeheartedly taking cognisance of it as it would ruffle a lot of feathers and would also stall economic progress. Due to the overwhelming opposition by the six states, the Centre was forced to requisition a fresh committee spearheaded by K Kasturirangan. 

This committee’s recommendation was a watered-down version of the Gadgil committee recommendations — it recommended demarcating only 37 per cent of the Western Ghats as “ecological sensitive zone” against 75 per cent proposed by the Gadgil Committee. 

The Kerala debacle should be an eye-opener for all. The six states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat — should take measures to ensure another Kerala-type debacle does not befall them. While economic progress and better lifestyle for the masses is a commendable vision to be pursued by the states. The best of the two committee recommendations should be taken and a compromise between progress and ecological safety should be derived. The implementation should be vested in an authority independent of political connections or leanings. 

K V Premraj Mumbai

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