New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, drawing his attention to the plight of local communities of Wayanad, following the recent Supreme Court order on maintenance of eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
He wrote, “Local communities still reeling under the impact of the Covid pandemic have expressed grave concerns regarding the implications of this judgement on their lives and livelihoods. The ESZ guidelines regulate several activities, including the change of agricultural systems, protection of hill slopes, and erection of electrical cables. The judgement states that no permanent structure shall be permitted to come up for whatsoever purpose within the ESZ. As one of the most densely populated regions in the Western Ghats, such restrictions hamper the ability of local communities to improve their standard of living.”
“The state & the union governments can help by requesting dilution of a minimum width of an ESZ to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The Supreme Court judgment considers recommendations made by the CEC & the MoEF&CC,” he said, adding, “I have written to the Kerala Chief Minister too. I request the Union government to address these concerns in the larger public interest and reiterate our shared commitment to balancing conservation goals with our people's legitimate developmental needs.”
It is to be noted that the Supreme Court in its recent order directed that national parks and wildlife sanctuaries must have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of minimum one km from the demarcated boundary of a protected forest.
No permanent structure will be allowed within the ESZ, the order added.
Notably, the apex court direction came on a pending PIL, titled as TN Godavarman versus UOI, about issues, including forest preservation.
The top court also directed the Chief Conservator of Forests of all the states and UTs to prepare a list of existing structures within the ESZs and submit a report to it within a period of three months.
"For this purpose, such authorities can take assistance from governmental agencies for satellite imaging or photography using drones," the bench said.
Rahul's Wayanad Office Vandalised
A group of protestors allegedly entered Rahul Gandhi's office and vandalised it in Wayand on Friday. The Congress has alleged the role of SFI in the attack, as per reports.
Visuals emerged on Friday that showed a group of protestors entering the office of Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, in a brawl that turned violent later.
According to Kerala Police, SFI, the students’ wing of ruling CPI (M), took out a protest march alleging that Gandhi failed to intervene in the issue of creating buffer zones around the forests in the hilly areas of Kerala.
Condemning the attack, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as quoted by news agency ANI said, "Strongly condemn the offence on office of Rahul Gandhi. In our country, everyone has the right to air their opinions & protest democratically. However, that shouldn't result in excess. It's a wrong tendency. Strict action will be taken against culprits."
Reacting to the incident, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said, “Ghastly attack by SFI goons at Rahul Gandhi's MP Office at Wayanad. It is lawlessness and goondaism. CPM has turned into an organised mafia. Strongly Condemning the attack.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, Congress leader KC Venugopal said, “Today around 3pm, a group of SFI workers and leaders forcefully encroached on the office of Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi. They attacked the office people, Rahul Gandhi's staff brutally. We don't know the reason.”
Police further said that the march had around 100 SFI activists that entered Rahul’s office. Eight of them have been taken into custody, police added.
"There were around 80-100 activists. As of now, eight of them are under custody. More police have been deployed,” news agency PTI quoted a police official as saying.