KOCHI: Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), today flayed the recommendations made by the Kasturirangan committee on the hills, saying it contains 'unconstitutional' statements.
He said that Kasturirangan, who headed the 10-member high high-level working group, constituted to examine the WGEEP report, had not shown 'scientific courtesy' to ask him about what was done by WGEEP before commencing his panel's work on its recommendations.
Interacting with the audience after delivering a speech on 'sustainable rebuilding of Kerala' at a function organised by the Indian Association of Lawyers here, he said there were differences between the two reports on the Western Ghats.
"As a scientist, I must say what I did was entirely transparent and open. Dr Kasturirangan is an old respected friend. He knows me for last 30 years. When he started I thought it is proper scientific courtesy since his work was to take our report further he would ask. He never did", Gadgil said.
Gadgil said when he contacted Kasturirangan, he had claimed certain things in his database it was superior to the WGEEP database.
"I requested him to kindly put it in the public domain. He never did it. It was a great scientific violation", he said.
He said the WGEEP database was placed in public domain.
Gadgil said a major difference was that Kasturirangan panel made an 'unconstitutional statement' in his report, saying "that the local community (in the hills) cannot have any say in economic decision making."
He said giving sanction for a stone quarry was an economic decision, but the Kasturirangan panel said that the Gram Panchayat cannot object to it.
"It is clearly unconstitutional. I am surprised that a man of his stature put such statement on his report", he said.
Gadgil also said the Kasturirangan report did not give special attention to the water resources in the Western Ghats.
"We (WGEEP) carefully discussed water resources and the need to protect them. The Kasturirangan report only more or less talks about government controlled forests and how to protect those. By and large, they gave no special attention to water resources", he said.
Gadgil's comments at a time when there is an increasing chorus in Kerala to implement either of these reports to protect the ecologically fragile Western Ghats in view of the recent floods.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), headed by Gadgil, had submitted the report to the Government in August 2011.
It had designated the entire hill range as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
Following protests by various groups and political parties against its recommendations,the government constituted the Kasturirangan committee to examine the WGEEP report.
Instead of the total area of Western Ghats, only 37 per cent (i.e.60,000 sq.km.) of the total area be brought under ESA under Kasturirangan report.
There was no immediate reaction from Kasturirangan about the charge.