‘World heritage tag move not anti-people’
It was the idea of Vajpayee govt, say environmentalists
With hue and cry mounting over the Western ghats and certain spots in Madikeri belonging to the Western ghats being proposed to get the world heritage tag, some of the environmentalists have said that the proposal is not anti-people in any ways and it will in no way take away lands of the people.
Kodagu Yekikarana Ranga Convener Thammu Poovaiah, Kodagu Model Forest Trust Secretary retired Colonel C P Muthanna, Wildlife First President K M Chinnappa, Coorg Wildlife Society Secretary A A Kariappa, Coorg Foundation Director K N Chengappa and Kaveri Sena Convener Ravi Changappa have opined that it is only the State governments in the country which have the right to decide on policies pertaining to land acquisition and revenue matters.
They have clarified that the proposal is confined to three thick forests and two reserve forests and the legal rights of the people living in these areas and on the borders will not be taken away.
They added that the report submitted by the Centre to UNESCO has not made any mention on curbing the rights of the citizens of using the land for agriculture, coffee production, pasture, road laying etc. Coming down heavily on the way the local people responded when the UN team of experts visited Madikeri, environmentalists said that the behaviour has affected the way the UN looks at the Kodava culture and tradition.
‘Instigated act’
By the media reports, it is evident that it was an instigated act. An elected representative had supposedly asked his followers to stage the scene during the team’s visit. The police took more than an hour to come to the spot and have so far not taken any action against those involved in this issue.
‘Central govt proposal’
The opposers of the world heritage proposal say that environmentalists who are receiving foreign funding are trying to get the tag accorded on Western ghats because of some vested interest. They should learn that it is the proposal of the Central government and not of the environmentalists. With the tag, the UN member nations can showcase their historical and natural glory to the world.
Taking about another advantage of the tag, the environmentalists said that the tag will help the Government solve tusker menace as funds will flow from the UN to the government.
‘Not our idea’
Environmentalists said that India has signed the agreement for the World Heritage spots along with 177 other nations. Accordingly, Minister of Environment and Forest started scientific identification of natural heritage spots in 2002. In 2004, the result of the transparent procedure of selection was out.
The idea was including the Western ghats in the world heritage list was the dream of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Kodagu- Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency was represented by Dhananjay Kumar during 1999-2004. So it was the then government which mooted the proposal. Neither the UNESCO nor environmental organisations pushed for the same.
