KC(M) leaders to meet Pinarayi Vijayan urging withdrawal of anti-farmer provisions in Kerala Forest Bill

Kottayam: Leaders of Kerala Congress (M), a key Left ally in the state, will meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday to express their dissent against certain key provisions in the Forest (Amendment) Bill 2024.

Party sources said that KC(M) chairman Jose K Mani MP, along with party legislators, will meet the chief minister to seek a review of certain provisions in the bill that are said to be against the settler farmers and people residing on the forest fringes.

However, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine, the party representative in the Vijayan-led cabinet, will remain in Idukki in connection with official assignments, sources added.

The Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aimed to revise the Kerala Forest Act, 1961, has drawn sharp criticism from settler farmers, a traditional support base of the KC(M).

The KC(M) sources said that the party leadership believes enacting the Bill in its current form could significantly erode its support base in central Kerala.

The draft of the proposed amendment reportedly includes provisions granting forest officials unchecked powers to arrest farmers, further fueling concerns among the affected communities.

The meeting comes at a critical juncture for the KC(M), as the party grapples with growing internal dissent and unease among cadres over its alliance with the ruling LDF, according to sources.