ESA exclusion row puts UDF under pressure in Pathanamthitta

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Representational image. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

The forest fringes of Pathanamthitta are bracing for a fresh round of protests over the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), with the CPI(M) threatening an indefinite agitation and demanding that the United Democratic Front (UDF) government seek the complete exclusion of all the seven villages covered by the Union government’s draft notification.

The escalation comes days after the State submitted a revised proposal to the Centre seeking the exclusion of inhabited areas and agricultural land from the ESA. But none of the seven Pathanamthitta villages included in the Centre’s draft notification figures in the State’s list of villages proposed for exclusion, giving the Opposition fresh grounds to press its demand.

The CPI(M) has threatened an indefinite agitation if the government fails to act. The party has also questioned how the exact areas proposed to be brought under the ESA can be identified when the map accompanying the latest draft notification is yet to be published.

“People cutting across political affiliations have submitted around 75,000 appeals to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking the complete exclusion of these villages. But the State government’s recommendation will carry greater weight than individual appeals,” said CPI(M) district secretary Raju Abraham.

He said the previous LDF government had recommended the complete exclusion of inhabited areas in the seven villages. He also warned that ESA-related restrictions could worsen human-wildlife conflict in the region and eventually force residents to abandon their homes and land.

Protesters also argue that demarcating ESA boundaries would be particularly difficult in areas where forests, agricultural land, plantations and houses are closely interspersed. Splitting individual survey numbers between ESA and non-ESA areas could also trigger disputes with landowners, they say.

The Opposition’s campaign has put the UDF government under pressure, with the ruling front maintaining that the State’s revised proposal has already excluded inhabited areas and agricultural land and that villages sharing boundaries with forests cannot be excluded in their entirety.

“The State government’s report on the draft ESA notification excludes inhabited areas and agricultural land in the Ranni and Konni constituencies of Pathanamthitta district, which is consistent with the UDF’s stance,” said a senior Congress leader.

According to the State government’s report, the ESA area in Pathanamthitta will come down from 1,543.01 sq km to 1,308.25 sq km.

The seven villages included in the draft proposal are Kollamula, Perunad, Chittar, Seethathode, Vadasserikkara, Thannithode and Aruvappulam.

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