Urge Centre to withdraw WG draft notification or quit: Shivamogga District Areca Growers' Association to MP, HM

The latest draft notification identifies 1,572 villages across 10 districts in the State, including 475 villages in Shivamogga for eviction

Expressing ire against the issuance of a draft notification by the Union government of the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the Western Ghats, of which 20,668 sq km is in Karnataka, the Shivamogga District Areca Growers' Association has demanded the resignation of MP B Y Raghavendra, and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra for their failure in convincing the Centre to leave out Karnataka in the notification.

Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, association President B A Ramesh Hegde said, the latest draft notification has identified 1,572 villages across 10 districts in the State, including 475 villages in Shivamogga for eviction.

This has triggered anxiety among people residing in areas of the Western Ghats of the 10 districts. For the fourth time, the Centre has issued the draft notification. The then Union minister had submitted an affidavit to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stating that it would implement the recommendations of the panel headed by Kasturirangan. This has put the people of 10 districts in Karnataka in a fix. So, both the MP and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra must step down from their positions owning moral responsibility, he said.

He also alleged that B Y Raghavendra has neither raised the issue in the Parliament, nor explained the woes of the people residing in Thirthahahalli, Hosanagar, and Sagar taluks by identifying 475 villages as ecologically sensitive areas. The MP's negligence is evident in this regard, he said.

He urged Raghavendra, and the State government to put pressure on the Centre to exclude 1,572 villages in Karnataka from the draft notification, and submit a fresh affidavit to the MGT stating that these villages had been dropped from the notification. If not, the association would launch an indefinite agitation against the State and Union ministers in the coming days, he warned.

Slamming Home Minister & Thirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra, he said, the minister has convened a meeting of MLAs of the Malnad region to discuss the draft notification. It is nothing but political drama, he added.