‘Address people’s concerns’: KCBC urges Centre, Kerala Govt to resolve Western Ghats ESA issue
Kochi: A prominent body representing Catholic bishops in Kerala urged the Central and state governments on Monday to coordinate efforts and secure a lasting resolution to the protracted Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) dispute.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) highlighted that hundreds of thousands of acres, comprising residential areas and agricultural plots, across the state remain enclosed within the proposed ESA boundaries.
The resolution was adopted during the KCBC conference held on Monday at Mount St Thomas in Kakkanad, which saw participation from bishops representing every Catholic diocese in Kerala.
In an official statement released on Tuesday, the bishops noted that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change reissued the draft notification for the Western Ghats ESA on July 27, marking its seventh iteration.
The Council pointed out that Kerala's current ESA proposal encompasses 9,993.7 square kilometres across 123 revenue villages, a footprint that incorporates vast stretches of populated areas and farmland.
Attributing the persistent impasse to prolonged delays in executing legally sound field surveys and establishing precise boundaries between revenue villages and ESA zones, the KCBC cited examples of other states. It observed that Tamil Nadu and Goa successfully resolved similar issues by completing rigorous ground and satellite surveys, separating human settlements from ecological zones and submitting updated maps to the Union government.
“However, Kerala has still not been able to clearly demarcate the boundaries in a manner that addresses the concerns of the people,” the KCBC statement noted.
The bishops pressed the Kerala government to step in promptly by reclassifying revenue villages, entirely removing populated and agricultural lands from the proposed ESA zones, and lobbying the Centre for necessary amendments.
The KCBC appealed to both the state and Central leadership to act in tandem to deliver a definitive solution that offers relief to Kerala’s agricultural community.
In addition, the Council conveyed deep grief over the loss of lives in recent natural calamities across the state, offering condolences to the affected families.
Reaffirming the Church's dedication to assisting disaster-affected populations, the KCBC called on the government to initiate scientific investigations into the growing frequency of landslides, floods and severe weather events. It advocated for long-term structural measures, such as desilting rivers and dams to increase their storage capacity, alongside proactive hazard mitigation strategies.
The bishops concluded by expressing solidarity with the Kerala government’s disaster response initiatives and pledging full cooperation with ongoing relief efforts.
PTI