KOCHI: Amid the growing protest against declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones around forest areas, the state government has submitted a revised proposal to remove 303.22 sq km of human habitations from the notified areas. Though the Centre has issued notifications declaring buffer zones around 24 sanctuaries, all notifications will be revised and steps have been taken to ensure that the zone declaration does not affect the people living on forest fringes, the office of Forest Minister K Raju informed TNIE.
The ESZ of Idukki sanctuary has been reduced by 68 sq km, while that of Neyyar and Peppara sanctuaries have been reduced by 18.92 sq km. The buffer zone of Thattekad bird sanctuary has been reduced from 28.4 sq km to 16 sq km, while the ESZ of Peechi-Vazhani sanctuary has been reduced from 131.54 sq km to 54.9 sq km. The eco zone of Parambikulam has been reduced by 66.78 sq km while that of Wayanad by 30.38 sq km, the minister’s office said.
While the state had submitted proposals in 2013 to declare up to 12km area from forest boundary as Eco Sensitive Zones, the present government has proposed to reduce the zone to 1km. But as the Centre issued the notification, it was found that some human settlements were included in the buffer zones.
Considering the complaints of the people who live in these zones, the minister convened a meeting on September 28, 2020 which decided to redraw the boundaries and submit new maps excluding human habitations.
The proposals for 22 ESZs excluding Mangalavanam in Ernakulam and Karimpuzha in Malappuram district have been submitted and the notifications will be revised, the minister’s office said.
The revised proposal for Thattekad, Aralam and Idukki sanctuaries was rejected by the expert committee of Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) on January 18.
Another revised proposal will be submitted soon. Care has been taken to ensure minimum hardship to farmers living on forest fringes. But the government cannot reject the notification completely as it will lead to declaration of areas extending up to 10km from forest boundary as ESZs by default, the minister’s office said.