THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Poet and activist Sugathakumari who spearheaded the agitation against the project said the verdict proved that truth and justice can emerge victorious even in this era. The verdict was a great relief, she said.
“Chief Minister Oommen Chandy must tender an apology to the people of the state and resign from the post,” said Kummanam Rajasekharan, chief patron of the Aranmula Heritage Village Action Council. The government took 10 percent equity in the project even when it was clear that it had violated many rules, he said.
Kerala State Biodiversity Board former chairman V S Vijayan said truth has finally come out.
“I was very sure from the beginning that the truth would come out as we were fighting with facts and figures where as the other party had only ‘cooked up’ facts.
They did not even visit the site. In the report they submitted, it was said that there were only 22 species in the 10 km radius of the proposed site. Out of them 21 species could only be found in dry areas like Madurai. They even went to the extend of telling that there was not wetland,” he pointed out.
Former minister and CPI leader Binoy Viswam termed the verdict as “a blow on the face of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy”.