Eyeing 2014 election, government eases curbs on Western Ghats

NEW DELHI: Amid intense pressure from states ahead of the 2014 election, the environment ministry on Friday withdrew its previous order on the Western Ghats and issued a fresh one clarifying that the Centre’s decision to treat 60,000 sq km across six states as ecologically sensitive area (ESA) would not affect normal activities like agriculture and plantation.

The new office memorandum said that the ministry was ready to bring “modifications” in earmarking ESA on the basis of suggestions made by states after physical verification. The clause is seen as a loophole that may delay the process of implementing recommendations of the Kasturirangan panel in the ecologically fragile zone.

“The entire exercise will certainly take time. The panel’s recommendation cannot be implemented unless there is clarity on the ESA boundary,” said a senior environment ministry official.

The ministry had last month accepted “in principle” the panel’s recommendations, which prohibited activities like mining, quarrying and setting up thermal power plants and other high polluting industries in the 60,000 sq km area spanning across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

“The earlier office memorandum of November 16 regarding ‘in principle’ acceptance of the high-level working group (Kasturirangan panel) report on Western Ghats stands withdrawn,” said an order issued by the ministry on Friday.

This order will, however, not affect the ministry’s decision to go ahead with the panel’s recommendations as far as polluting industries and big constructions are concerned.

Friday’s order incorporated three additional points that are merely clarifications. It said: “The recommendations given by the high-level working group neither put any fresh restrictions on land use in the ESA nor do they in any way impact the continued occupation of land in possession of the local people and affect their day-to-day activities or normal livelihood.”

The move comes after a series of protests by villagers against the Centre’s decision in the past one month. The Kerala government as well as the opposition had been vocal against the decision, saying it will affect the livelihood of locals.

The ministry, which came out with a list of villages in six states that were included in the ESA prohibiting certain activities, has now decided to “fine tune” the boundary of the prohibited zone after taking inputs from state governments.

The pressure from the Kerala government had started building up more after Congress’s poor show in the recent assembly polls. Although the ministry officials had verbally clarified that the decision would not affect the farmers or other local inhabitants in the ESA, the clarification did not pacify the agitators in the state.