Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV/SP)
Mangalore, May 7: State forest, ecology, and environment minister, B Ramanath Rai, said that a report has been sent to the central government, recommending to prune down the ecologically sensitive areas mentioned in the report of high-level working group led by Dr Kasturirangan, from 20,000 square kms to 13,000 square kms in the state.
Rai said that the above report had been sent for implementation to six states, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa, and Maharashtra. After the report attracted widespread opposition in Kerala, the union government had given an opportunity to the states to seek changes in the report, he said.
"A cabinet sub-committee led by me, and having ministers, R V Deshpande, D K Shivakumar, Vinay Kumar Sorake, Mahadev Prasad, T B Jayachandra and Prakash Hukkeri, met four times, and after prolonged discussions, recommended changes as above to the Kasturirangan report. Karnataka happens to be the second state behind Kerala to have sent recommendations to the centre before the deadline set for May 10," Rai claimed.
He explained that the above report had included villages of which 20 percent or more comprised of forests, under forest zone. "We decided to change this, and include in the zone only those villages, at least half of which are covered by forests. As against 35% recommended by Kerala as prohibited area, we have, for the convenience of the people, hiked this to 45%," he added.
He also explained that a comprehensive information booklet will be supplied to all the gram panchayats to educate them about the details of the scheme.
Rai insisted that the proposal to set up thermal power plant at Niddodi had been sent in 2006, and that it was discussed during the budget session during Jagadish Shettar government. He said that himself, Jain, and other ministers had succeeded in convincing the chief minister not to insist on this project. ‘The chief minister has agreed to shelve this proposal. There is no need to become panicky. We will ensure that the chief minister issues a clarification on this issue,’ he added.