NEW DELHI: Blaming successive Kerala govts for their neglect of environmental factors that led to the Wayanad disaster, environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said the state govt did not pay attention to “expansion of illegal human habitation and mining” in ecologically fragile areas, and kept allowing such activities over the years which led to the devastating landslides on July 30.
“Such activities were allowed in the past 10 years without keeping in view soil topography, rock conditions, mountain slope, vegetation structure and overall geomorphology of the ecologically fragile region,” Yadav said.
Records show Kerala govt gave approval to as many as nine projects, including four of mining, in the state during the past three years (2022-24) whereas environment ministry permitted one project – construction of twin tunnel between Anakkampoyil Kalladi-Meppadi in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts – during the period. On the ministry’s approval, Yadav said the lone project was approved in-principle (stage-I) and construction has not yet started.
Yadav said he now expects Kerala govt to work with a central committee and give its consent to the sixth draft, issued by Centre on July 31, for notifying ecologically sensitive area (ESA) within its jurisdiction of Western Ghats at the earliest so environmentally hazardous activities could be immediately prohibited.
The draft proposes earmarking 56,825 sq km as ESA to prohibit/regulate environmentally hazardous human activities within the Western Ghats, spread over six states. The proposed ESA comprises 9,993 sq km in Kerala.
“Such activities were allowed in the past 10 years without keeping in view soil topography, rock conditions, mountain slope, vegetation structure and overall geomorphology of the ecologically fragile region,” Yadav said.
Records show Kerala govt gave approval to as many as nine projects, including four of mining, in the state during the past three years (2022-24) whereas environment ministry permitted one project – construction of twin tunnel between Anakkampoyil Kalladi-Meppadi in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts – during the period. On the ministry’s approval, Yadav said the lone project was approved in-principle (stage-I) and construction has not yet started.
Yadav said he now expects Kerala govt to work with a central committee and give its consent to the sixth draft, issued by Centre on July 31, for notifying ecologically sensitive area (ESA) within its jurisdiction of Western Ghats at the earliest so environmentally hazardous activities could be immediately prohibited.
The draft proposes earmarking 56,825 sq km as ESA to prohibit/regulate environmentally hazardous human activities within the Western Ghats, spread over six states. The proposed ESA comprises 9,993 sq km in Kerala.