The Shivamogga District Congress Committee (SDCC) has urged B.S. Yeddyurappa, Shivamogga MP, to make his stand clear on the recommendations of K. Kasturirangan panel on the conservation of Western Ghats.
B.A. Ramesh Hegde, secretary of SDCC, told presspersons here on Thursday that as per the recommendations of the panel, 492 villages in the district would come under the purview of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs). There was a strong demand from the residents of these villages to keep human habitats away from the purview of the report. It was unfortunate that Mr. Yeddyurappa had not discussed the issue in Parliament or at the meeting of MPs held recently on the Western Ghats held recently, he said.
Farmers engaged in cultivation of land in the fringes of forest fear that, after the issuance of final draft notification on ESAs, they would be evicted from their land. Farmers fear that restrictions would be imposed on lifting of sand from river basins, collecting minor forest produce and on the works of upgrading basic civic amenities in the villages, he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leaders campaign for Lok Sabha election by assuring the people that confusions that prevailed over the Kasturirangan Panel report would be cleared. It was unfortunate that after winning the election, BJP MPs, including Mr. Yeddyurappa, had failed to take any action in this regard, he said.Functionaries of the Congress C.G. Madhusudan, Chethan, Srijith and Santosh were present.
