Central norms, State law in a mismatch

T. Nandakumar,  Thiruvananthapuram,  
TheHindu,January 25, 2016

A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change prescribing regulations on river sand mining is feared to result in a mismatch with the State legislation on the issue, sparking concern over its implications on the protection of the ravaged rivers in Kerala.

The notification issued on January 15 mandates the creation of a District Environment Impact Assessment Authority empowered to issue environmental clearance for sand mining below five hectares.

It prescribes guidelines for the preparation of a district survey report to identify river sand resources, protection of the riverine ecology and steps to check illegal mining.

In Kerala, district-level expert committees chaired by the respective District Collectors have been constituted under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001 to identify the locations for river sand mining. In June last year, the State government had imposed a total ban on sand mining from six rivers and imposed restrictions on mining from five rivers for a three-year period. The decision was based on the sand audit report of 11 rivers prepared in accordance with the state Act.

Experts’ fear

Experts and environmental activists fear that the uncertainty over which would prevail, the State Act or the Central notification, would create a situation for illegal mining to flourish in the State.

“Unless the issue is clarified, confusion will prevail, setting the stage for unscientific exploitation of river sand resources,” says Latha Anantha, Director, River Research Centre. “It is neither necessary nor desirable to have a district expert committee set up under the State Act and a District EIA Authority mandated by the Central notification, both chaired by the District Collector. It will only lead to confusion and conflict,” says N.K. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary, Pampa Parirakshana Samithi.

Experts fear that the exemptions cited in the notification would be manipulated to bypass the requirement of environment clearance for river sand mining.

Extraction of ordinary sand, removal of sand deposits from farms and silt from dams and reservoirs are among the activities that have been exempted.

 

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Greens see red as State relaxes norms for quarries

The Hindu, September 17, 2015

In a decision that is bound to have far-reaching consequences, the State Cabinet has exempted quarries up to one hectare from the need to secure environmental clearance.

Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the decision was taken in the light of the strike by quarries and crusher units to protest the revised rules for issue of mining licence.

The resultant short supply of rubble had affected development projects across the State, he said.

Citing the huge financial burden for securing environmental clearance, small quarry owners had been exerting pressure on the government to relax the new licencing rules.

But experts and a section of government officials maintain that the Cabinet decision is not legally sustainable. Lawyer and environmental activist Harish Vasudevan said the move to exempt quarries up to one hectare from environmental clearance amounted to a violation of the Supreme Court judgment in the Deepak Kumar vs the State of Haryana and others case.

On February 27, 2012, the apex court had ruled that leases of minor mineral, including their renewal for an area of less than five hectares, be granted by the States/ Union Territories only after getting environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Mr. Vasudevan said the Supreme Court order had been upheld by a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on March 23 this year while dealing with a writ petition filed by the All Kerala River Protection Council against the functioning of illegal quarries.

The Cabinet decision is a clear violation of the Supreme Court judgement and the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which makes it mandatory to obtain environmental clearance for all mining operations, points out a government official seeking anonymity. The government will find it difficult to surmount a legal challenge by environment organisations, he added.

“Besides, environment is a Central subject and the State Cabinet is out of its bounds in taking a decision to relax the norms for quarries,” he observed.

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ESA demarcation: State to bank on population density argument

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, September 3, 2015
he State government went into a huddle on Wednesday following the clarifications sought by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on the demarcation of ESAs (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) in Kerala.

Ministers and senior officials participated in a series of meetings convened through the day to prepare the State’s response to the letter from the MoEFCC Secretary to the Chief Secretary, seeking details of Kerala’s shapefile (a GIS data format), explanation on management of fragmented ESAs, and geographic coordinates of the ESA boundaries.

Officials said a note providing the details sought by the Ministry had been prepared and submitted to the Principal Secretary, Environment, by evening.

Sources said Kerala had sought to project the high population density in the State to justify the exclusion of human settlements and plantations from the ESAs and the fragmentation of ESAs.

According to the data provided in the note, Kerala had a much higher population density than the five other States bordering the Western Ghats. While the average village level population in Gujarat is 3,265, it is 2,557 in Maharashtra, 3,683 in Goa, 2,068 in Karnataka, and 4,402 in Tamil Nadu, while in Kerala, the figure is as high as 20,052.

The figures are a clear indication of the critical importance of people’s participation in conservation programmes in Kerala, says an official.

Pointing out that Kerala has a forest cover of 29.1 per cent, higher than India’s forest cover of 21.5 per cent, the official said any effort to increase the green cover would be totally dependent on community involvement.

Sources said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was scheduled to hand over the State’s response to Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on September 4. Mr. Chandy will be accompanied by Environment Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Environment, Mara Pandian and chairman of Kerala State Biodiversity Board Oommen V. Oommen.

The final notification on the recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee for protection of the Western Ghats is expected to be issued on September 9.

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Vellayani lifts veil on Painted stork

T.Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, August 1, 2015

A bird survey conducted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board at Vellayani Lake near here has revealed the presence of rare species, justifying the efforts to claim biodiversity heritage status for the region.

The KSBB has submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking heritage tag for the freshwater lake and its environs.

The Rs.75-crore proposal seeks to enlist the support of local communities to protect bird nests and prevent poaching. The bird survey had revealed the presence of over 100 species in the Punchakari area bordering the lake.

KSBB Member Secretary K.P. Laladhas said a team of birdwatchers had been tracking the native and migratory species at Vellayani for some time.

On July 31, the team spotted a single Painted stork in the wetlands. A large wading bird, the Painted stork ( Mycteria leucocephala ) is a near threatened species rarely found in Kerala.

Dr. Laladhas said the late sighting of the stork at Vellayani, coinciding with the delayed start of a full-fledged monsoon, could make it an indicator of climate change.

The Jacobin cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo ( Clamator jacobinus ), a bird associated with rain since ancient times, was also first spotted at Vellayani during the survey.

Biodiversity register

The KSBB is preparing to bring out a biodiversity register exclusively for the Vellayani region.

Three other locations in Kerala, Kalassamala in Thrissur district, Ashramam in Kollam, and Pathiramanal island in Alappuzha, have also been proposed as biodiversity heritage sites.

Official sources said the government was expected to notify the sites after issuing the guidelines for biodiversity heritage status.

Of the four proposed sites, Kalassamala is home to about 200 trees of the Syzygium travancorium species. Listed as critically endangered in the Red Data book published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is known to have a population of only about 400, all of them in Kerala.

While Asramam is known for the mangrove forests on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake, Pathiramanal was proposed for the biodiversity heritage tag for its rich diversity of migratory birds.

 

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Agasthyamala likely to be part of World biosphere reserves

K.S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, June 4, 2015

The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve (ABR) may be included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves by the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO if legal protection is ensured for the northern part of the site.

The Agasthyamala reserve is the only site considered from the country by the International Advisory Committee for Biosphere Reserves this year. The proposal will be considered at the Paris session of the MAB beginning June 8.

Currently, Agasthyamala is listed in the category of “nominations recommended for approval, pending the submission of specific information.”

Nine in country

Though there are 18 biosphere reserves in the country, only nine, including the Nilgiris, Nanda Devi, Nokrek, Gulf of Mannar, Sundarban, and Great Nicobar, have been included in the network.

Biosphere reserves are “representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over a large area of terrestrial or coastal/marine ecosystems or a combination thereof and representative examples of bio-geographic zones/provinces.” Globally, 621 biosphere reserves from 117 countries are included in the network so far, according to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.

 

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State seeks more forestland for Sabarimala from Centre

PATHANAMTHITTA,  
The Hindu, November 3, 2014
The State government has urged the Centre to allot more forest land for Sabarimala development, said V.S. Sivakumar, Minister for Health and Devaswom.

Mr. Sivakumar was addressing a meeting held in connection with the Amala Bharathom cleaning drive at Pampa on Sunday.

He said a high-level team led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had submitted a memorandum seeking National Pilgrim Centre status for Sabarimala to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Minister for Forests and Environment Prakash Javadekar in October.

Mr. Sivakumar said the Chief Minister had convened a high-level meeting in Thiruvananthapuram at 12 noon on Wednesday to chalk out a detailed action plan for developing Sabarimala into a National Pilgrim Centre.

Members of the Travancore Devaswom Baord and the High Power Committee for Sabarimala Master Plan Implementation would also attend the meeting.

The Minister said works undertaken by the government in connection with the annual pilgrim season would be completed as scheduled.

He said the government had sanctioned Rs. 5 lakh each to the District Superintendents of Police in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, and Idukki to meet any emergency need during the pilgrim season.

He said a meeting of Ministers and officials from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh would also be chaired by the Chief Minister in Thiruvananthapuram on November 5.

Presiding over the meeting, Raju Abraham, MLA, said plastic waste posed a major health hazard at Sabarimala.

Subhash Vasu, TDB member; Anto Antony, MP; V.S.Jayakumar, Sabarimala Devaswom executive officer; and S.Harikishore, District Collector, spoke.

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