Kerala cannot accept Gadgil report on Western Ghats: CM

 Monday, June 11, 2012: Kerala today said it cannot accept recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil report on Western Ghats as most of its suggestions were impractical to implement and said the state could protect its environment within provisions of existing laws.
“The Gadgil report places several restrictions on human activities in the Western Ghats and is impractical to implement in the state. Kerala can protect its environment with the provisions of the existing laws,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in the Assembly today.
He was replying to a calling attention moved by CPI-M member A K Balan seeking a review of the report by the Centre.
Chandy said Kerala had written to the Centre in January this year with rejoinders on nine suggestions of the report. One of them, to decommission dams that are 50 years old was impractical as various dams, including the Idukki hydroelectric project would be affected, he said.
Classification of areas under different Zone’s according to its environment and ecological sensitivity would badly affect the state, he said. “As per present classification guidelines, areas under Vattiyourkavau in the city will be treated as environmentally sensitive,” he said.