Illegal mining, constructions led to Wayanad tragedy: Environment minister
The environment ministry clarified that the Centre did not grant environmental clearances for any developmental activities in Wayanad.
Illegal mining, uncontrolled construction and unregulated commercial activity aggravated the disaster in Wayanad, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday, as he blamed the state government for ignoring key aspects of the region before granting approvals for such projects.
The environment ministry clarified that the Centre did not grant environmental clearances for any developmental activities in Wayanad, except an in-principle nod for a Tube Unidirectional Tunnel Road (2+2 Lane) with Four Lane Approach (from existing roads) last year.
The tunnel was envisioned to provide direct connectivity between Aanakampoyil Kalladi-Meppadi in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts of Kerala. The construction for the project, however, is yet to start.
“When such projects are approved, it is important to understand what is the soil topography, geomorphology, what is the slope angle and vegetation in the region. In the past 10 years, the state government did not pay attention to these matters. That is why when a huge rain event happened, we saw a massive disaster of this scale,” Yadav said.
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Senior officials at the environment ministry pointed out that in the last three years, Kerala granted environmental clearance for three quarries, two of which are for granite stone in Wayanad district.
Two landslides hit Wayanad district in the early hours of July 30 after two to three days of continuous rainfall in central and northern parts of Kerala. So far, at least 221 people have died in the district, with scores missing.
The BJP leader’s comments came days after Union home minister Amit Shah said that the Centre issued an early warning to the state government about the heavy rainfall and landslide threat on July 23. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government has rejected Shah’s claims.
“Illegal mining, uncontrolled construction and unregulated commercial activity led to the cause of the disaster,” Yadav said in Parliament on Monday.
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Kerala forest minister AK Saseendran condemned Yadav’s statements, saying that it was the wrong time to blame one another. “To say that this disaster was caused by Kerala’s wrong actions, raises the suspicion that the Centre may be planning to deny the rightful financial assistance to the state. Kerala has collectively demanded that this tragedy be declared as a ‘national disaster’. The union environment minister’s stand to not help the state at this time will be seen as injustice to the people of the state. He must correct his stand, I humbly request. All the MPs from Kerala have made that demand, and the state government will move forward in strengthening that demand before the Centre. To find solutions to the problems associated with this massive tragedy, the Centre’s help is extremely important,” he said.
Officials said that a draft notification to notify ecologically sensitive zones in the Western Ghats was prepared on the recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil and K Kasturirangan committees. States, however, flagged different issues. The environment ministry then constituted a high-level committee under Sanjay Kumar, former director general and special secretary at MoEFCC, the officials said.
“States have agreed to notify ESZ in principle but the main issues are cropping up when ground truthing is being done. There are local pressure groups that are also opposed to the idea of curbing certain activities. We have also said that the Western Ghats ESA draft notification shall be taken into consideration for publishing final notification of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area in a phased manner either state-wise or through a combined single notification,” a senior official said requesting anonymity.
Wayanad landslides: 308 dead; Centre blames Kerala government for tragedy
In 2011, the committee under Gadgil, which was set up by the Centre to assess the environmental sensitivity of the Western Ghats and the possible impacts of the climate crisis in the region, recommended that 75% of the 129,037 sq km area of the mountain range be declared ecologically sensitive because of the presence of dense forests, a large number of endemic species and unique geology. It also recommended placing Sulthan Bathery, Vayittiri, Manantavadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district in the ESZ (eco-sensitive zone; also called ESA or eco-sensitive area) 1 category, which refers to the highest ecological sensitivity.
HT reported on Friday that the Union environment ministry issued a draft notification to declare the Western Ghats an ecologically sensitive area (ESA), including villages in Wayanad where the landslides have caused mass destruction.
The proposal for the ESA classification covering six states and 59,940 square kilometres of the Western Ghats — or roughly 37% of the range — was circulated as a draft notification on August 1.
The latest draft is similar to the one issued in July 2022.
Since the first such demarcation was recommended, the proposed protected area has shrunk from the original 75% recommendation to the current 37%.
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“This draft notification has been reissued because the previous draft expired. The high-level committee constituted by the MoEFCC is yet to conclude its report. They are yet to give us final suggestions based on responses from states including Kerala,” said a senior official at the Union environment ministry, asking not to be named.
Experts suggest the latest draft may have been prompted by recent devastating landslides in Wayanad district.
Separately, Yadav urged people to join the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign. He said over 200 million saplings have already been planted since the campaign was launched in June.
“We are urging everyone to join this public campaign. This will help us increase tree cover and biodiversity,” he said.