Kerala to exclude residential areas and farmland from ESZ

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to exclude residential and agricultural areas as well as government, semi-government and public institutions from the one-kilometre wide eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting held during the day, a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

It said that taking into account the objections received against a Central government draft notification which included residential areas around 23 wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the State, the Cabinet decided to approve the Forest Department's proposal to exclude such areas, agricultural land, and the various public institutions from the ESZ.

The Forest and Wildlife Department's proposal has also been forwarded to the Centre.

Later, State Forest Minister A K Saseendran told reporters that with the latest Cabinet decision, the earlier one regarding the ESZ or buffer zones would cease to exist.

He said the Forest and Wildlife Department has been tasked with taking the matter forward, including moving the Supreme Court, after holding discussions with the Advocate General.

The top court had, on June 3, pronounced the verdict to create a one-km eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around all wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, which is generally considered to affect normal life of people living in such areas of the southern State for decades.