Kerala government irresponsible in handling buffer zone issue, says V.D. Satheesan

‘All of the government’s actions in the issue till now has been working to the State’s disadvantage’

The Kerala government has been “mysteriously irresponsible” in handling the buffer zone issue and in defending before the Supreme Court the State’s case for exempting human habitats from ecologically-sensitive zones (ESZ), Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said here on Tuesday.

All of the government’s actions in the issue till now has been working to the State’s disadvantage, and if the Supreme Court insists on maintaining the ESZ as it had envisaged in its earlier order, the lives and livelihood of thousands of families living on the fringes of wild life and nature parks in the State would be adversely affected, he said.

Mr. Satheesan said if the State government’s intention all along was to exempt human habitats from buffer zones, the Chief Minister has the responsibility to explain why the government chose to issue a notification in 2019 recommending that an area of 1 km around protected areas be declared as ESZ and send it to the Centre and the apex court.

He also asked why the government chose to issue a second notification without cancelling the first one. “Why did the government choose to depend on a satellite survey alone to determine human habitats around protected areas and not a manual survey by involving the Revenue and Local Administration departments?,” asked Mr. Satheesan.

Moreover, the satellite survey report which is marred by inconsistencies was kept under wraps for over three-and-a-half months by the government, he pointed out.

If the Supreme Court accepts the satellite survey report and issues an order which may be against the interests of the State, will (Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan own up the responsibility?, asked Mr. Satheesan.

Even when the Opposition gave a comprehensive list of suggestions regarding the buffer zone issue and suggested conducting a manual survey, it was not considered by the government, he said.