Rainfall and floods in Kerala ..

This is the doc from IMD on Kerala rainfall . (click here - doc A)

My blog on Prof. Gadgil's writing ..(click here - doc B)

There are lot of comments coming out whether the Kerala govt could have done something earlier to prevent this disaster. A postmortem .. 

The learned Prof. Madhav Gadgil

Of all these analysis and learned reports, I feel Prof. Madhav Gadgil's report (doc B) and the watered down Kasturirangan report (under the pressure of the politicians and religious heads across Kerala) is the most important.

The Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh in February 2010 had a meeting in Kotagiri TN  with the representatives of the Save the Western Ghats which consisted of environmental experts from the Southern and Western states and wanted to asses the damages and recommend preventive measures which could prevent the degradation of the Western Ghats. Acordingly after the meeting Jairam Ramesh constituted the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Prof. Madhav Gadgil to assess the ecology and biodiversity of the Western Ghats which extends 1500 kms from Kerala right upto Gujarat and recommend measures to conserve, protect and rejuvenate the Western Ghats.

Findings of the Gadgil Committee report : 

The boundaries of the Western Ghats for the purposes of ecological management was defined. The total area in this boundary came to 1,29,037 square km, running about 1.490 km north to south, with a maximum width of 210 km in Tamil Nadu and minimum of 48 km in Maharashtra. It proposed that this entire area be designated as ecologically sensitive area (ESA). 

Within this area, smaller regions were to be identified as ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) I, II or III based on their existing condition and nature of threat. It proposed to divide the area into about 2,200 grids, each approximately 9 km × 9 km, of which 75 per cent would fall under ESZ I or II or under already existing protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries or natural parks.

It recommended:

• Ban on cultivation of genetically modified plants in the entire area
• Plastic bags to be phased out in three years
• No new special economic zones or hill stations to be allowed
• Ban on conversion of public lands to private lands, and on diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes in ESZ I and II
• No new mining licences in ESZ I and II area
• No new dams in ESZ I
• No new thermal power plants or large scale wind power projects in ESZ I
• No new polluting industries in ESZ I and ESZ II areas
• No new railway lines or major roads in ESZ I and II areas
• Strict regulation of tourism
• Cumulative impact assessment for all new projects like dams, mines, tourism, housing
• Phase-out of all chemical pesticides within five to eight years in ESZ I and ESZ II

The committee proposed a Western Ghats Ecology Authority to regulate these activities in the area.

Dr K Kasturirangan, courtesy Alchetron

When the recommendations of the Gadgil commitee was neglected by the government (to their own detriment ), it constituted another committee called the Western Ghats Expert Promotion Group under Dr K Kasturirangan (ISRO) in August 2012 which submitted its report in April 2013.

The Kasturirangan report broadened the definition of Western Ghats and included a total of 1,64,280 square km in it. 

• Classified WG as comprising cultural landscape and natural landscape. 
• Nearly 60% of the Western Ghats was cultural landscape, where human settlements, agriculture and plantations existed. 
• The remaining was natural landscape, of which the “biologically rich” area was only 37% or about 60,000 sq km. 
• It was only this part that the committee said needed to be classified as ecologically sensitive area (ESA)

Its main recommendations for ESA

• Ban on mining, quarrying and sand mining
• No new thermal power projects, but hydro power projects allowed with restrictions
• Ban on new polluting industries
• Building and construction projects up to 20,000 sq m was to be allowed but townships were to be banned
• Forest diversion could be allowed with extra safeguards

In 2016, the Environment Ministry released the draft notification demarcating 56,285 sqkm of the Western Ghats as ESA from 59,940 sqkm as recommended by the KasturiRangan committee,,  ie, there has been further erosion from the KasturiRangan report too.

This is the latest status of the 3 environment committee report on the Western Ghats. While the first Gadgil committee report was very tough and insisted on strict measures for the preserrvation of the Western ghats ecological system in its pristine beauty and purity, the other two reports have been looking at widening the area under Western Ghats with a simultaneous dilution of the recommendations to preserve its purity and sanctity. 

All to the detriment not only of the people of Kerala but for the whole western coast of India. 

george.. (with inputs from Indian Express 22 Aug 2018)