Sugatha moots green cess for Western Ghats

 

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Paristhithi Aikya Vedi led by poetess Sugatha Kumari has proposed a special protection fund for the welfare of farmers in the Western Ghats region. The Vedi has recommended a ‘green cess’ for the creation of the fund. 

 

“The cess should be seen as a compensation given to these farmers for the sacrifices they have made for the conservation of the environment,” Sugatha Kumari told reporters here on Wednesday. She said a cess could be charged on the electricity extracted from hydel power stations like Idukki and Sabarigiri. Similarly, a cess could be charged on the consumption of water provided by the Kerala Water Authority.

 

The Vedi also suggested that a certain portion of the profits of the resorts functioning in Western Ghats area should be collected as cess. The proposed fund is for the livelihood security of the farmers of the region. “Such a facility should not be extended to exploiters of the region like those indulging in quarrying,” Sugatha Kumari said. 

 

The Vedi, however, is still not clear about the beneficiaries of the special fund, whether it should be for the farmers of the entire Western Ghats region in the state or limited to the farmers in the 123 villages marked as ecologically sensitive by the Kasturirangan panel. “We will be holding more public discussions before we firm up the specifics,” Sugatha Kumar said. 

 

The other major recommendations put forward by the Vedi are: one, the state government should immediately provide title deeds to small farmers holding less than five acres of land and who had encroached into forest land before 1977; and two, illegal quarrying activities should be banned with immediate effect.