Western Ghats memo comes too late for poll bound Kerala Congress party

NEW DELHI: The Congress-led UPA’s eleventh-hour effort to safeguard the party’s electoral prospects in Kerala may not yield results.

The environment ministry’s office memorandum on the implementation of the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats late on Tuesday, allowing Kerala to alter the boundaries of the ecological sensitive areas may not be enough to either stave off attacks from the Left Democratic Front or quell panic within the ruling United Democratic Front.

Environment ministry officials said a draft notification would be issued once the law ministry has vetted the document. “The draft notification will be issued soon. After which, it will be put up for comments for 60 days,” one of the officials said.

The Congress-led UDF government in Kerala would like the central ministry to withdraw its November 13 directive issued under the Environment Protection Act, 1984, which gave legal sanctity to the ecologically sensitive areas recommended by the panel led by Planning Commission member K Kasturirangan.