Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran has assured the public that the government would not compromise the interests of the State in the wake of the Supreme Court order mandating a 1-km Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around forests.
In a pressnote issued here on Friday, amid a call for hartal by various political parties in the high ranges to protest the alleged move to declare ESZ around protected areas, he appealed for calm and called on organisations to desist from creating a fear psychosis among the people.
There is no move to declare ESZ around forests and no one will be evicted from their land because of this, he said.
Legal recourse
Pointing out that the apex court order was applicable to all States and Union Territories, he said the State government would do everything possible including legal recourse to exclude human settlements from ESZ.
He clarified that the Government Order issued on the basis of a Cabinet decision on October 23, 2019, did not mandate the declaration of a 1-km ESZ around forests; it was only a directive to officials for preparation of a draft notification to regulate mining and quarrying and unauthorised construction activities in the wake of the devastation caused by floods and landslips in 2018.
The GO did not mandate the declaration of a 1-km ESZ at any location, it only directed officials to assess the vulnerability of sites before regulating such activities. Field inspections later revealed that human habitations adjoining wildlife sanctuaries were not vulnerable to landslips. Following this, the government submitted a report to the Centre recommending the exclusion of settlements from the ESZ around 22 sanctuaries and national parks, the Minister said.
