The row over the Central notification declaring 123 villages on the Western Ghats in Kerala as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) where human intervention cannot be allowed as per the proposals of the K Kasturirangan committee has reached a crucial stage pushing the State Congress and the UDF Government into a spot with allies demanding immediate solution.
Third biggest UDF constituent Kerala Congress (M), the CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF, the powerful Catholic Church, various settler farmers’ associations and several other outfits have intensified their protests asking the Congress to somehow force the Centre to freeze or withdraw the office memo issued in November before the notification for the lok Sabha polls came.
The issue has sowed panic in the Congress which has been viewing Kerala as one of the few states where it can put up a good performance in the lok Sabha election. This had prompted party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to intervene in the matter a couple of days ago but Union Environment Minister Veerappa Moily has failed to offer any concrete assurance.
The Kerala Congress (M) has stated that its leaders will resign from the posts they are holding in the Government if the demand for the withdrawal of the notification is not honoured. One of its leaders warned the Congress that it would be solely responsible if an “explosion” (violent protests) occurred in the high ranges, the bases of settler farmers.
The lDF on Friday called for a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Idukki and Wayanad, the two districts most affected by the Kasturirangan proposals, on Saturday. Shutdown will also be observed in certain other areas affected by the Central notification. The protest fast being observed by the Paschima Ghatta Jana Samrakshana Samithi (Council for Protection of Western Ghats People), backed by the Catholic Church, in Kozhikode entered the third day on Friday as its leaders warned the Congress of taking a “hard stand” in the election if an order withdrawing the Central notification did not come before the announcement of polls.
Samithi leaders said that they might even field own candidates in the election if the Congress could not meet their demand. The Catholic Church will on March 9 read out in parish churches across Kerala a pastoral letter asking believers to defeat those who are unable to protect the farmers’ interests with respect to the Kasturirangan committee report.
Congress leaders in the State, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and environmentalist PCC president VM Sudheeran, continue to say that the issue will be solved by considering the sentiments of the settler farmers but they are still unable to assure the farmers that the Central notification issued in November will be withdrawn or frozen.
Idukki and Wayanad districts and other settler farmer areas have been the strongholds of the UDF traditionally and now the Congress and the Kerala Congress (M) are worried that this community could turn against them if they cannot solve the issue arising out of the Central decision on the Kasturirangan committee report. Oommen V Oommen, chairman of the three-member panel appointed by the State Government to look into the issue, said on Friday that the Centre might within two days issue an order exempting 2.500 sq km of high range areas from the ESA limit but failed to categorically state whether the Central order of November per se would be withdrawn or frozen.
“This is a matter concerning the Western Ghats that extends through six states. There can be no decision exclusively for Kerala,” Oommen said. Reports from Delhi on Friday quoted Veerappa Moily as saying that Kerala’s interests would be taken into account while taking a final decision on the subject but this failed to convince the farmers’ outfits.