K. Sudhakaran, Member of Parliament, has said that the draft notification of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests declaring the areas around the Aralam Kottiyoor Wildlife Sanctuary as an ecologically sensitive zone could not be accepted and that he would fight strongly against the Centre’s action which had worried thousands of farmers in Aralam, Kottiyoor, and Kelakam panchayats. He said the Ministry should have taken care to exempt settlements and agricultural lands in Kottiyoor and Aralam areas from the restrictions in the ecologically sensitive areas.
He called on the Centre to work for the withdrawal of the “unscientifically declared buffer zone” around the Kottiyoor Wildlife Sanctuary, the reduction of the forest boundary to zero point, the demarcation of the buffer zone to the forest boundary wall and the inclusion of three-tier panchayat representatives and farmers in the promoting committee.
Greens’ stand
However, environmentalist Vinod Payyada, member, District Environmental Protection Committee, said that the draft notification would not affect the farmers as much as it was being propagated. However, this would certainly hit those running quarries, mining, and large establishments. The government had the responsibility to address the issues of those who may be affected in the area.
Bhaskaran Vellur, chairman, Malabar Paristhithi Samithi, said that the ecological sensitive zone was a must to reduce growing man-animal conflicts and also protect the environment. The government should take initiatives to create awareness among the people and farmers, he said.