ESA Objection Deadline Ends on September 25; Digital Maps Yet to Be Made Available for Public

Kollam: The 60-day deadline for submitting objections to the draft notification on the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) will end on September 25. However, village digital maps containing geo-coordinates have not yet been made available at panchayats for public inspection. Despite strong protests demanding urgent action, the state government has not taken steps in this regard.

The map has also not been properly published on the website of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The notification directs people to check the map on the website of the State Biodiversity Board. However, the map does not enable people to identify residential areas.

Farmers are struggling to find out whether their land and houses fall within the ESA limits. With only a limited period available for the public to submit objections, protests have intensified over keeping the maps inaccessible.

According to the draft notification, a total of 79,603.47 hectares across eight villages in the district have been included in the ESA. The areas covered are Kulathupuzha — 32,433.64 hectares, Aryankavu — 14,475.66 hectares, Thenmala — 8,016.16 hectares, Edamon — 7,607.28 hectares, Piravanthoor — 6,287.47 hectares, Thinkalkarikakom — 5,258.39 hectares, Punnala — 4,367.42 hectares and Channappetta — 1,157.45 hectares.

With around 79,000 acres included in the ESA, nearly 50,000 farmers in the district are facing a major crisis.

Farmers whose land falls within the ESA and ordinary residents living within the specified limits will have to obtain strict permission from the Forest Department in addition to approval from the panchayat for carrying out construction on their own land. This is being viewed as tantamount to completely restricting construction activities.

Residents may have to make repeated visits to Forest Department offices even to renovate or rebuild a house on their own property.