[ad_1]
“God’s Kingdom”
Kerala is one of the most scenic states in India, bordered by the Western Ghats in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. It is known as the “God’s Own Country”.
But the federal government told Parliament in July 2022 that between 2015 and 2022, India had 3,782 landslides, nearly 60% of which occurred here.
“It is being fragmented by elite greed and encroached upon by the poor struggling to eke out a living,” a federally appointed committee studying the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghats said in 2011. “This is a great tragedy as the mountain range is the backbone of South India’s ecology and economy.”
The committee, headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, recommended a ban on mining, construction of new railway lines or major roads or highways in these areas and restricting development in the areas it has demarcated as protected areas. For tourism, it said only tourism with minimal impact should be promoted under strict regulations on waste management, transportation and water use.
State governments, including Kerala, did not accept the report and set up a new committee, which in 2013 reduced the overall protected area from 60% to 37% of the mountain range.
But minutes of successive meetings as of 2019 show all states along the range want to reduce the protected area further. The federal government has issued draft bills to implement the recommendations of all stakeholders but has yet to issue a final order.
Gadgil told Reuters his committee “specifically recommended that no further human intervention, such as reconstruction, should be carried out in the highly ecologically sensitive area”.
“Of course the government decided to ignore our report,” he said, because tourism is a cash cow.
Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan dismissed questions about Gadgil’s advice, telling reporters his focus was on rescue and rehabilitation and asking people to “refrain from undue publicity in the face of this tragedy.”
While experts frown upon tourism-led development, locals like Padikar Paraban of Mundakai say tourism has brought jobs to a region that previously had few options.
“After plantations, resorts are now the second largest job-creating industry in the region,” he said.
But KR Vancheeswaran, president of the Wayanad Tourism Organisation, which has about 60 resorts and homestays, none of which are located near the landslide, said the tourism industry should bear some of the blame.
“If human activities exceed the limits of nature, nature will unleash its power and we will not be able to withstand it,” Vanchiswaran said. “We have already paid a very, very high price, so let’s try to learn from it.”
[ad_2]
Source link
