Kerala to convene all-party meet on Western Ghats report

Kerala has been saying difficult to accept Gadgil report as much of the areas in the state identified by the report are highly populated

The Kerala government on Wednesday said it would convene an all-party meeting to discuss the various issues pertaining to the implementation of the Kasturirangan committee report on Western Ghats. The government’s decision is in the light of the ongoing  agitation by the local people in the High Ranges of the state for the last couple of weeks.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests recently issued an office memo on the  implementation of  the report, which recommends a ban on activities that damage environment. There is serious apprehension among the people of the High Ranges that they would lose their farms and houses when  the government implements the report strictly.

Chief minister Oommen Chandy said the government had  appointed a three-member expert committee to submit a report on the issue. The committee will have sittings in 16 places across the state and will submit its report in  December. Then an all-party meeting will be called to discuss the report. He said after the meeting, the government would convey its views on the report to the Union Government.  

The Kasturirrangan committee report will be translated into Malayalam and circulated among the people of the 123-affected villages in High range districts.

The committee had surveyed the area with remote sensing method and mistakes happened in such process. A number of plantations and villages like Melukavu, Punjar, Thekoi and Thekkekkara in Kottayam district   are included as part of forest area and there is serious concern among farmers.

He said that the government would take strict disciplinary action against officials who spreads false information on Kasturirangan committee report among the villagers.