Kerala: Govt decides to publish proposed map of ecologically sensitive area

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], December 21 (ANI): The Kerala government decided to publish the proposed map of an ecologically sensitive area after a high-level meeting on Tuesday.
The proposed map was prepared by the state government and was then sent to the central government.
The government also informed that the time to provide additional information will be extended to January 7. The report can be submitted to the respective panchayat secretaries. It can also be directly submitted to the forest department.
A team consisting of Revenue, Forest and Local Self-Government Department officials and technical experts will be appointed at the panchayat level to verify the information obtained at the field level.
The team will also consider gathering information from the people by forming a committee consisting of all sections of people, including people's representatives.
It has also been decided to apply to the Supreme Court for an extension of the date of the transfer of information.
An online meeting of the president, secretary, village officers, tehsildars, and Forest department officials of the 87 panchayats concerned will be held on Wednesday. It is to be attended by ministers handling the Local Self-Government, Revenue and Forest departments. Details on field verification will be decided at the meeting, officials said.
The meeting on Tuesday was presided over by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and ministers K Rajan, AK Raveendran, Roshi Augustine, KN Balagopal, MB Rajesh, Adv. General Gopalakrishna Kurup, Chief Secretary Dr VP Joy, Additional Chief Secretaries Dr V Venu, Sharada Muraleeran, Biswanath Sinha and other officials, took part in it.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Leader of Opposition, Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan alleged that the Supreme court delivered the judgment on June 3, 2022 but the government was not ready to conduct a physical survey.
"In 2019, a cabinet meeting under the leadership of CM Pinarayi Vijayan took a decision that all the inhabitant area should be included in the buffer zone. Actually, that decision and order affected the case in the Supreme Court. Now the government is arguing that all the inhabitant area should be removed from the buffer zone," he said.
He further said when the matter was raised in the Assembly, the government had assured of canceling the order and issuing a new one.
"Unfortunately, the government was not ready to cancel the initial order which was issued on October 31, 2019. The Supreme Court ordered a physical survey but the government conducted a satellite survey, which was incomplete and vague. The government is going to issue the satellite survey report, which will affect people in the area," he further said. (ANI)