Western Ghats: Kerala government seeks report from districts by July 25

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today directed district collectors to submit a comprehensive report identifying ecologically fragile lands in 119 villages by July 25 to prepare the state's view on the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats.

The instruction in this regard was issued by Chandy to collectors of affected districts through video conferencing.

He said the six-member committee, which was formed for this purpose, should complete the work by July 23-24.

A permanent solution was needed to address the anxiety of the people over the Kasturirangan report, he said.

Chandy said the land under Forest Department should be conserved and Forest land, agriculture areas, plantations and inhabited lands should be differentiated.

The report was sought in the backdrop of the Commissions's recommendation to declare 123 villages in the state as Ecologically Fragile Land (EFL).

Four panchayats, which did not have any forest land, were excluded from this list. Cadastral Map of Ecologically fragile villages were prepared and submitted to the centre, he said, adding details related to the map were being prepared now.

The collectors promised Chandy that the survey in all districts would be completed within two days. The panchayat committees will submit report on July 25, which will be submitted to the Centre on July 30 or July 31.