BENGALURU: With both Houses of the Legislature set to adopt a resolution opposing the Dr K Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats, the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP on Monday traded charges over who was responsible for the controversy, even as BJP wanted the issue to remain “apolitical”. The three-day special session to discuss the Kasturirangan report and drought began on Monday. The debate on the report is expected to continue till 1 pm on Tuesday with the resolution likely to be taken up later, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said.
While Congress maintained that the state should send a strong and united message against the proposal to declare parts of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs), BJP argued that the ruling party should not use the resolution to blame the NDA government at the Centre.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra and senior party MLA Araga Jnanendra blamed the Congress-led UPA government, saying it was the Manmohan Singh government that constituted the Gadgil and Kasturirangan committees to study the Western Ghats.
Jnanendra said the Centre should not be blamed as it is bound by the Supreme Court proceedings. He blamed then Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for constituting the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel headed by Madhav Gadgil.
RDPR Minister Eshwar Khandre said, “The Gadgil committee recommended 1,29,037 sqkm as ESA, whereas the Kasturirangan committee 56,000 sqkm.”
He argued that the Western Ghats has survived because of the communities living there, but it is the influential people who have encroached forest and ecologically sensitive areas. When Jnanendra asked whether Khandre supported the Kasturirangan report, he clarified that he favoured rejecting it.
Mudigere Congress MLA Nayana Motamma challenged BJP to prevail upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reject the report.
Vijayendra versus DKS
Vijayendra said the State government should go beyond merely passing a resolution and prepare itself legally to defend the interests of people living in the Western Ghats.
He said the government should approach the National Green Tribunal and seek at least one year to conduct a physical survey of the affected areas. “The deadline will not allow the government to complete a survey of all 1,476 affected villages and prepare maps at the survey-number level,” he said.
He questioned the government’s decision to go on a padayatra on the issue and said Shivakumar should ask his party leaders not to politicise the issue.
Shivakumar said the opposition never convened a special session to debate drought or farmers’ issues when it was in power.
