Sirsi
Sirsi-Siddapur MLA Bhimanna Naik has urged the state government not to implement the Kasturirangan report, warning that its enforcement would adversely affect the social and economic life of people living in the Western Ghats and Malnad regions.
Naik met Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy and submitted a memorandum highlighting the difficulties that residents of Uttara Kannada district, particularly Sirsi and Siddapur, could face if the recommendations of the report are implemented. He said conservation of the Western Ghats was important, but development restrictions should not come at the cost of the livelihood and welfare of local communities.
According to Naik, around 59,949 square kilometres of the Western Ghats have been proposed to be brought under the Eco-Sensitive Area framework, imposing several restrictions on human activities. As many as 604 villages in Uttara Kannada district are included in the identified area, including 125 villages in Sirsi taluk and 103 villages in Siddapur taluk.
Naik said implementation of the report could have serious consequences for the economic and social lives of thousands of people who depend on forests and surrounding natural resources for their livelihoods. He also pointed out that the Kasturirangan committee had prepared its recommendations without adequately obtaining the views of local residents. Such an approach, he said, failed to reflect the ground realities and concerns of communities that have lived in the region for generations.
He further argued that if the identified areas were brought under direct central government control, the move could create difficulties for development activities in 10 districts of Karnataka.
Responding to the memorandum, Minister Ramalinga Reddy assured Naik that the government was committed to protecting the interests of people in Uttara Kannada and the Sirsi-Siddapur region. He said the government would not allow a report that could harm people’s livelihoods or obstruct development and assured that the Kasturirangan report would be dropped.