ESA notification emerges as key political issue in Keralam’s Pathanamthitta

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

As concerns over the Centre’s revised draft notification on Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) mount in the high ranges, the issue is steadily acquiring political weight in Pathanamthitta, with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) seeking to turn the concerns of settler farmers into a major political issue in the district.

The latest draft notification has brought seven villages in the district, Chittar, Seethathode, Aruvappulam and Thannithode in Konni taluk, and Vadasserikkara, Perunad and Kollamula in Ranni taluk, under the ESA framework. All seven villages have been categorised as red zones, while limited restrictions will also apply in the orange and yellow zones.

Farmer organisations have already demanded that the villages be completely excluded from the ESA regime, pointing out that the areas proposed for inclusion are largely inhabited and include locations where projects such as hydroelectric schemes are already functioning. Most of the residents are settler farmers who migrated to the region decades ago.

The issue has now reached the political arena with the LDF seeking to foreground the concerns of this important electoral constituency. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has stepped up its intervention, with district secretary Raju Abraham warning of a mass agitation against the draft notification. “Farmers are now worried that they may have to stop farming if the draft notification is finalised,” Mr. Abraham said.

According to Mr. Abraham, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides could face restrictions, while tree felling and cultivation would be regulated on land with a slope of 30% or more. Hospitals and power generation facilities could not be established in the notified areas while even the construction of houses would require the approval of an environmental authority to be constituted by the State under the leadership of the Forest department. “Forest department clearances are already being delayed. Eventually, nobody may even be willing to buy land in these areas,” he added.

The Kerala Congress (M), which has traditionally drawn much of its political support from settler farmer communities, too is seeking to put the ESA issue high on the political agenda. Party chairperson Jose K. Mani has demanded urgent intervention by the State government and urged it to convene a special session of the Assembly to deliberate on the notification.

“During the previous LDF government’s tenure, Keralam had submitted a proposal to the Centre, following a demand from the Kerala Congress (M), to reduce the number of villages classified as Ecologically Sensitive Areas to 92,” Mr. Mani said.

He argued that Keralam’s demographic and geographical realities called for a different approach to the implementation of ESA restrictions.

“Keralam has a forest area of around 11,000 sq km, with forests accounting for 54% of the State’s total land cover.