Jairam Ramesh flays UDF on cardamom plantations

Kochi: Opposing his party-led Kerala government's controversial decision to treat cardamom plantations in thick rain forests in Western Ghats region of the state as revenue land, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh today said such areas have to be marked as forest areas to ensure proper protection of ecologically sensitive hills.

“Cardamom plantations in ecologically sensitive areas must be treated as forest areas,” the former Union environment minister said from Delhi when his attention was drawn to the Oommen Chandy government’s decision to demarcate Cardamom Hill Reserve as non-Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs). A high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Chandy had last week decided to finalise the areas to be excluded from ESAs identified by the K Kasturirangan committee for conservation of Western Ghats. “Cardamom plantations cannot be treated as forest land and separate survey numbers will be given to treat it as revenue land. The forest department will have the ownership only of the trees. Plantations will not come under ESA”, Chandy had said after the meeting.