THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (UCAN): George Cardinal Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church in India, expressed concern over the likely eviction of some 150,000 families from wildlife sanctuaries and parks in the southern state of Kerala.
On June 3 the country’s Supreme Court declared all places within a kilometre around protected forest areas as eco-sensitive zones [ESZs]. “No new permanent structure shall be permitted to come up for whatsoever purpose within the ESZ,” the court ruled.
The order triggered panic among people living around the 24 declared sanctuaries and parks in Kerala, compelling Cardinal Alencherry to describe it as “a really worrisome” development.
In a statement issued on June 9, the cardinal pointed out that the order, if implemented in its current form, will dislocate close to a million people in a tiny state like Kerala alone.
“Environment protection has always been the policy of the Church. But imposing the entire burden of environmental protection on those living in regions bordering the forest is unfair,” the statement said.
Cardinal Alencherry, president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, said it had appealed to the communist-led provincial government to appraise the top court about the difficulties and repercussions of implementing its order.
Meanwhile, more than a million people living in the forested hills of Idukki called for a dawn-to-dusk shutdown on July 10 in protest against the order. The district has eight wildlife sanctuaries and the order will likely displace hundreds of thousands of families.
Environment protection has always been the policy of the Church. But imposing the entire burden of environmental protection on those living in regions bordering the forest is unfair
Cardinal Alencherry
Father Sebastian Kochupurackal, the general convener of the Idukki-based High Range Samrakshana Samithi movement, said on June 9 that the political leadership in both the federal and provincial governments had failed to present people’s concerns before the top court.
“The court cannot be blamed because it passed the order based on the facts and figures presented to it by the governments. Our people have been living around these protected forests for ages. Where will they go now?” the priest asked.
Kerala Independent Farmers Association chairperson Alex Ozhukayil also opposed the top court order and said it should not be implemented in its current form. He appealed to the state government to either get the order reviewed or to denotify the sanctuaries and parks to avoid human displacement.
Kerala’s population density is close to 860 people per square kilometre, which is more than double the national average. Thus, the state will be among the worst hit if the order is implemented.
Some estimate that having a one-kilometre eco-sensitive zone around the 24 sanctuaries and parks in Kerala will take away around 250,000 acres of land currently under human habitation.
The Kerala government has decided to file a review petition due to mounting public pressure.
However, wildlife conservation activists lauded the order, saying that eco-sensitive areas need to be protected as they are vulnerable to disturbances due to increasing human activities.
