Can this tragedy of landslides be attributed only to nature's fury, because of the torrential rains which have lashed the district of Wayanad? May not be. It could be a combination of both nature and human greed which has led us to this disaster. Asserting his views on the eco-sensitive nature of the western ghats that have witnessed this disaster, the leading ecologist of India, Prof Madhav Gadgil, has blamed the government for ignoring ecological recommendations. The Hindu reported that; Mr. Gadgil criticised the State government for not adhering to the panel’s guidelines designed to prevent such disasters amid extreme climate changes.
Most ecological experts agree with the angst expressed by Prof Madhav Gadgil. They attribute the devastation of floods and landslides to the extensive quarrying, mining, mushrooming of high-rises on the hillside as part of tourism, and illegal encroachment of forestland by people who they term as environmental fundamentalists. We must hold these people, supported by political parties – cutting across party lines, who must be held responsible for the catastrophic consequences. They don’t understand the value of coexistence with nature. A closer look at the regions impacted by this unprecedented catastrophe shows that they are majorly part of the Western Ghats and most of these places are classified as ecologically sensitive zones (ESZs) by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Committee.
The WGEEP panel under the chairmanship of Prof Madhav Gadgil, ecologist and founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, painstakingly crafted their monumental report addressing some of the ecological consequences in the very regions that are now adversely affected by the landslide in subject. Prof Gadgil, in his preface to the report, says “the report embodies among other things (i) categorisation of the Western Ghats into three zones of varied ecological sensitivity, based upon careful analysis done by WGEEP, (ii) broad sectoral guidelines for each of these zones, and (iii) a broad framework for the establishment of the Western Ghats Ecology Authority”.
This report was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under the UPA Government in 2011. The report recommended that the whole of Western Ghat be divided into 3 zones and that no new mining licenses should be given in zones 1 and 2. It further said that the Government must stop all existing mines in Zone 1 by 2016 and it must also stop illegal mining activities immediately. Unfortunately, no action was taken on the report since the recommendations in the report were considered a bitter pill, which no Government would wish to swallow, particularly because the implementation of the report would hurt the powerful mining lobby of South West India with deep pockets and high-level political connections. Interestingly but not surprisingly, this mining body is patronised by both the leading political parties in Kerala – the ruling LDF and the opposition, UDF and therefore Madhav Gadgil's report was not acted upon and gathered dust and the ministry also did not release this report to the media for public discussion. An RTI activist from Kerala learned of this report and sought the report from the union Ministry under the RTI. The government did not furnish the information citing security concerns. Undeterred, the applicant agitated the matter right up to the CIC and finally, the CIC ordered the government to make the report public, which the Ministry earnestly followed.
The Gadgil committee report sparked much controversy in Kerala, especially as the then-opposition CPI-M accused the report of being too environment-centric. This resulted in no action by the Government. The Supreme Court intervened in the matter and directed the government to act on the report. The result was the formation of another committee, the Kasturirangan Committee, which was set up to review the Gadgil Committee report and suggest changes so that the states can implement the recommendations of the Gadgil report, keeping in mind the welfare of the inhabitants as well.
Kasturirangan led-High Level Working Report (HLWG) was submitted in April 2013 to the Ministry of Environment. The Ecologists say the HLWG is a dilution of the Gadgil report and, therefore, unacceptable. There were agitations and protests even against the Kasturirangan report by quarry owners and farmers, especially in the Idukki and Wayanad districts, the very districts that are now worst affected. Political leaders and mining companies too joined hands to fight against the report resulting in hardly any action on either of the reports.
It is worthwhile to note that there are a few key differences between the Gadgil and the Kasturirangan report. Prominent among them is the extent of the area that should be awarded protection as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). The Gadgil panel identified the entire Ghats as ESZ. However, the Kasturirangan panel used a different method, primarily because of the expertise of Dr Kasturirangan in the field of finer remote sensing technology with which he was very closely associated. Kasturirangan report, accordingly, removed cash crop plantations like rubber, agricultural fields, and settlements from ESZ. The Kasturirangan report suggested an ESZ area of 37 percent of the Western Ghats (still a massive 60,000 ha), which was much less than the 137,000ha proposed by Gadgil. However, what is alarming is that even after more than a decade of the report of Dr. Kasturi Rangan, neither of the reports has been completely implemented on the ground. Experts may debate on the two reports but what may be of essence is that we should learn lessons from this disaster and take corrective actions.
What may have been the consequences of the torrential rains, had the Gadgil report or even Dr Kasturirangan's Reports been acted upon is something which each of us is free to envisage and apply our minds to such thoughts. Well, my guess is as good as most of my friends. Professor Gadgil himself however feels the current catastrophe is man-made, which he emphatically has stated. It is of interest to note that both reports highlight the ecological sensitivity of the region, which is now struck by a landslide.
Today we witness a highly polarised polity who are bickering on every subject, and the divide is so vividly evidenced in the parliament, which is engaged in an animated budget discussion, which looks more like a political mudslinging match rather than a place for debate with great scholarship. But strangely, when it comes to taking action and implementing either the Madhav Gadgil Report or Dr Kasturi Rangan’s report, there seems to be unanimity across party lines, and no one wants to bite this bullet to annoy their vote bank and the mighty environmental fundamentalists – the mining lobby.
Six years ago, a similar situation played out in Kerala in August 2018, and the resultant floods caused a loss of more than 300 people but then we seem to have learned no lessons, and the UDF government, which is in power now and so also during the August 2016 flood, must not shy away from acting on the reports any longer and the NDA government must extend all possible assistance and support to Pinnarayi Vijayan’s government not only to tide over the current disaster but also in implementing at least the Kasturi Rangan’s report to avoid any further disasters
Let us hope that someone is listening.
Until then let us all put our hands together to raise in appreciation of the rescue teams who are doing extraordinary service to the nation.
Jai Hind
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