Ironically those who are supposed to allay apprehensions on the Gadgil Committee Report are spreading misunderstanding among the public on it, said committee member V S Vijayan.
He was speaking at an open discussion organised by the Cochin Adventure Foundation on Saturday on apprehensions and hopes on Gadgil Commission Report.
“It was not a right move on part of the Church to issue a pastoral letter against the report,” he said.
“A majority of churches seek financial support from foreign agencies and the remarks of the Church that the Commission members received cash from foreigners was unfortunate,” he said.
Earlier, the Syro-Malabar Church and the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council had opposed the implementation of the report recommendations, as “it is against farmers”.
Since most of the farmers in the hilly regions are Christians, they also alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the report.
The Syro-Malabar Church, in a pastoral letter, had also said the recommendations of the report would affect the livelihood of thousands of farming families.
Vijayan also pointed out the necessity for preserving water resources in the Western Ghats.