Thiruvananthapuram: The state government would ask the Centre to bifurcate the ecologically sensitive areas in the western ghats into forest ESA and habitat. CM Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here that the government was not against bringing natural landscapes covering the forest area of 9,107 square km under the ESA. The remaining 886.7 sq km of land which are inhabitated will be protected by the state government.
The state government will ask the centre to allot it 886.7sq km of land announced as ESA by the Kasturirangan report. It will have full responsibility to protect this land, he said.
The centre had informed that the state’ s report on the ESA was hindering the final notification on the conservation of the western ghats.
The centre's stand is that the report submitted by Kerala exempting plantations and populated areas from the purview of the Kasturirangan report cannot be approved.
