Resolution on Kasturirangan report alone will not help, says MLA for Karkala Sunil Kumar
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BJP member V. Sunil Kumar on Tuesday urged the State government to seek six to 12 months to conduct a physical survey of villages covered under the Kasturirangan report in the Western Ghats, saying a unanimous resolution by the State legislature alone will not ensure justice to the people of the region.
Participating in the special discussion in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Sunil Kumar, who represents Karkala, said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) could disregard the resolution and proceed with orders on implementing the report’s recommendations. An all-party delegation to the Centre, he added, might also not yield the desired outcome.
He suggested that the government conduct a detailed physical survey of every affected village to identify and map agricultural, forest and other areas, he said. The Kasturirangan committee conducted a satellite survey and prepared the report.
Mr. Sunil Kumar also pointed out that the Congress government headed by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had accepted some of the Kasturirangan Committee’s recommendations on May 5, 2014. The State would have to provide scientific and technical grounds for opposing those recommendations now, he said.
Congress member and former Minister H.K. Patil said successive governments had “wasted time” by failing to conduct a physical survey of the affected villages since 2013. The Kasturirangan report had diluted several recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Committee, he said, suggesting that the Centre and the State jointly file an affidavit before the NGT to find a solution.
T.D. Raje Gowda, Congress member from Sringeri, also called for a physical survey and clear demarcation between natural and cultural landscapes before Karnataka presents its case before the NGT.
According to the State government, the Centre’s seventh draft notification, issued on July 27, covers 20,668 sq. km in 10 Karnataka districts and 1,449 villages under the proposed ecologically sensitive area.
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