THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Following the devastating landslides in Wayanad and Shirur in Karnataka that claimed hundreds of lives, the Karnataka government is taking a strong stance against illegal encroachments in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region. The disaster serves as a stark warning to Kerala, where unchecked tourism activities, including illegal resorts, homestays, and construction, are exacerbating the climate crisis and environmental destruction.
Experts point to the tourism department’s focus on local tourism as a contributing factor to overcrowding, which has fuelled the growth of illegal tourism activities in vulnerable areas of the Western Ghats. As per official data, around 17.5 lakh domestic tourists visited Wayanad last year. Meppadi, where the devastating landslide happened, attracted many domestic tourists thanks to its hills, waterfalls, forests and lakes.
The Karnataka government has instructed the forest authorities to vacate illegal resorts and homestays that encroached on forests on a large scale in the Western Ghats.
Environmentalist Sridhar Radhakrishnan has expressed serious concerns about the uncontrolled tourism activities in Wayanad, referring to it as “crash tourism”. He emphasised the absence of regulations in this ecologically delicate area, and cautioned that the surge in resorts, homestays, glass bridges, and adventure activities would only worsen the environmental issues in the region.
“Wayanad should be rebuilt with a renewed focus on agriculture and farming activities and one should avoid giving prominence to tourism. There is immense possibility for agriculture in Wayanad, including the cultivation of several varieties of fruits, and crops. Allowing large-scale tourism-related development will only aggravate the disasters,” said Sridhar. He pointed out that tourism activities at Kuruva Island were halted by the High Court following the huge influx of tourists.
Experts say the state should prioritise quality tourism and the shift towards promoting local domestic tourism has resulted in overcrowding and mass tourism, which are negatively impacting the industry and the environment.
Former deputy director of the tourism department Prasanth Vasudev criticised Kerala Tourism for misallocating funds, resources, and energy towards promoting domestic tourism. He argued that the department should prioritise attracting international visitors and tourists from other states to boost the economy, rather than investing in projects that primarily draw day visitors from within Kerala.
“Promoting mass tourism will only lead to environmental destruction, which negatively impacts the industry. Strict regulations to curb mass tourism should be enforced and steps should be taken to prevent harmful practices within the industry. Tourism should be promoted but bad practices in the industry that are negatively impacting nature should be prevented,” said Vasudev.
Forest Minister A K Saseendran said a directive has been given to the district collector to identify illegal construction in the district. He said there are several orders and directives from the Union Government, National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court (SC) concerning the environment and protection of the Western Ghats. “The government has yet again issued a fresh draft notification to declare 56,800 Sq.Km of the Western Ghats across six states, including Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). Kerala is the only state that responded to the draft notifications. The Union government should try for a consensus and issue the final notification so that the governments can effectively act,” said the Minister.
Responding to Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s accusations that the state government allowed illegal mining and unregulated human habitation in ecologically fragile areas, which contributed to the landslides, Saseendran said that the Centre is attempting to avoid declaring the landslides as a national disaster and is placing the blame on the state government to evade responsibility.
Shift from tourism
Experts point to the tourism department’s focus on local tourism as a contributing factor to overcrowding, which has fuelled growth of illegal tourism activities in vulnerable areas of the Western Ghats
They argue that Wayanad should be rebuilt with a renewed focus on agriculture and farming activities and one should avoid giving prominence to tourism