Bommai opposes declaring Western Ghats as eco sensitive zone

Expressing his government’s reservations against the Kasturirangan report, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai has opposed declaring Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive zone as it would adversely affect the livelihood of the people in the region.

The chief minister expressed the government’s stand at a virtual meeting on the implementation of the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats, chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Labour Bhupinder Yadav.

“Declaring Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive zone would adversely affect the livelihood of the people in the region. So the Karnataka government and the people living in the region are opposed to implementation of the Kasturirangan report,” he said.

He said that the government decided to oppose the report after holding discussions with residents and officials working in the Western Ghats.

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He stressed that the state is one of the few which has an extensive forest cover. The government has taken extensive measures to ensure that biodiversity of these forests is protected and encouraged people in the Western Ghats to adopt agriculture and horticultural activities in an eco-friendly manner, he said.

“Priority has been accorded for environment protection under the Forest Protection Act. In this background bringing one more law that would affect the livelihood of the local people is not appropriate,” he said.

The Kasturirangan report has been prepared based on the satellite images, but the ground reality is different, Bommai claimed.

Yadav assured the state that officers from the Union Environment and Forests Department would visit the state before taking any decision, the chief minister’s office said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)