The Pokkali Protection Forum has urged the government to take steps to implement the recommendations of the expert committee which studied aquaculture policies in Pokkali and Kole lands in Kerala.
The government had constituted a committee headed by B Madhusoodana Kurup, vice-chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean studies. The committee had submitted its report to the government in February.
“The committee has done a commendable job. But, the government has not initiated steps to place the report in Assembly. To make it binding, it is necessary to discuss the report in Assembly”, said Francis Kalathunakl, general convener of the Protection forum.
In the report, the committee has recommended the government to take a “concerted effort to preserve and conserve the available pokkali fields in the state and maintain them as heritage farming villages and find them a place in the global heritage villages”.
The Protection Forum is plannning to initiate protests against the delay from the side of the government.