CPI(M) Threatens Indefinite Stir Over Seven Pathanamthitta ESA Villages

The CPI(M) has warned of an indefinite agitation in Pathanamthitta unless the UDF government asks the Centre to keep all seven villages named in the draft Ecologically Sensitive Area notification out of its ambit.

The dispute has sharpened after the State sent a revised proposal to the Centre seeking the exclusion of inhabited areas and agricultural land from the ESA.

However, none of the seven Pathanamthitta villages listed in the Union government’s draft notification figures in the State’s list of villages proposed for exclusion, giving the Opposition a fresh point of attack.

Seven villages at the centre of the row

The villages included in the draft proposal are Kollamula, Perunad, Chittar, Seethathode, Vadasserikkara, Thannithode and Aruvappulam.

The CPI(M) is demanding that the UDF government seek the complete exclusion of all these seven villages covered by the Union government’s draft notification.

The party has also questioned how the exact areas proposed to be brought under the ESA can be identified when the map accompanying the latest draft notification is yet to be published.

CPI(M) district secretary Raju Abraham said people cutting across political affiliations had submitted around 75,000 appeals to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change seeking the complete exclusion of these villages.

“But the State government’s recommendation will carry greater weight than individual appeals,” Raju Abraham said.

He said the previous LDF government had recommended the complete exclusion of inhabited areas in the seven villages.

He also warned that ESA-related restrictions could worsen human-wildlife conflict in the region and eventually force residents to abandon their homes and land.

Boundary concerns and land disputes

Protesters argue that demarcating ESA boundaries would be particularly difficult in areas where forests, agricultural land, plantations and houses are closely interspersed.

They say splitting individual survey numbers between ESA and non-ESA areas could also trigger disputes with landowners.

These concerns have become part of the Opposition’s campaign against the State’s position on the draft ESA notification.

The campaign has put the UDF government under pressure, even as the ruling front maintains that the State’s revised proposal has already excluded inhabited areas and agricultural land.

The ruling front also maintains that villages sharing boundaries with forests cannot be excluded in their entirety.

UDF cites revised proposal

A senior Congress leader said the State government’s report on the draft ESA notification excludes inhabited areas and agricultural land in the Ranni and Konni constituencies of Pathanamthitta district.

“The State government’s report on the draft ESA notification excludes inhabited areas and agricultural land in the Ranni and Konni constituencies of Pathanamthitta district, which is consistent with the UDF’s stance,” the senior Congress leader said.

According to the State government’s report, the ESA area in Pathanamthitta will come down from 1,543.01 sq km to 1,308.25 sq km.

The Opposition’s position is that the exclusion of inhabited areas and agricultural land is not enough because all seven villages in Pathanamthitta remain part of the Centre’s draft notification.

The UDF government’s position is that its revised proposal has already protected inhabited areas and agricultural land, while not excluding entire villages that share boundaries with forests.

The immediate flashpoint, therefore, is not only the extent of ESA reduction in Pathanamthitta but also whether the State should seek complete exclusion of Kollamula, Perunad, Chittar, Seethathode, Vadasserikkara, Thannithode and Aruvappulam.

With the CPI(M) threatening an indefinite agitation if the government fails to act, the ESA issue is set to remain a pressure point for the UDF in Pathanamthitta’s forest-fringe areas.

Source: The Hindu