Karnataka's 'green cess' on water: Dy CM, minister contradict each other

Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said that he has proposed a Rs 3 cess on the water bills to save the ghats by building a corpus fund meant for the conservation of the ecosystem

Amid the buzz over Karnataka government’s reported proposal to impose a ‘green cess’ on residents’ water bills, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre appeared to make seemingly contradictory statements on Thursday. While Khandre said that he himself proposed for the cess to “conserve” the Western Ghats, Shivkumar denied that any such proposal was under consideration.

 

“It is all bogus news that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to spread,” Shivkumar said when asked about the proposed ‘green cess’. 

 

However, Khandre said earlier that he proposed the cess “to bring awareness among the people” to save the Western Ghats. “It is to conserve the Western Ghats and make awareness among people. Rs 3 per month for ‘green cess’ is not a big matter. There is not much awareness about the forest, environment and ecology. I have proposed this to bring awareness among the people,” he said.

 

VIDEO | "It is to conserve Western Ghats and make awareness among people. Rs 3 per month for 'green cess' is not a big matter. There is not much awareness about the forest, environment and ecology. I have proposed this to bring awareness among the people," says Karnataka minister… pic.twitter.com/rUZyTGVUQ6

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 14, 2024

 

The Rs 3 cess proposal to save the ghats was a plan thought by the state forest ministry to build a corpus fund meant for the conservation of the ecological system.

 

The Western Ghats are crucial for rainfall feeding rivers like Bhadra and Kabini, which is a key source of water for the residents. The mountain range is internationally recognised for its ecological significance and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Older than the Himalayas, these mountains shape the ecological processes over the entire Indian peninsula, according to the UN.

Western Ghats, inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2012, is older than the Himalayas. Its high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. It is home to atleast 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian species. @VishalVSharma7 pic.twitter.com/4ju1eBtSYq

— India at UNESCO (@IndiaatUNESCO) August 7, 2022

 

These mountains, running parallel to the Indian western coast, greatly influence the monsoon pattern of India, acting as a key barrier to intercept the rain-laden monsoon winds. The Western Ghats are known to be one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. However, issues such as mining, illegal poaching, encroachment, etc have plagued the region.  (With inputs from PTI, ANI)