Ministry of Environment of Forests wants people’s locality-specific data on environment to be taken into account.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), set up by the Ministry of Environment of Forests (MoEF), in its summary report has confirmed the DNA story published on October 6, 2011, ‘Maharashtra going the Goa, Bellary way’, which had exposed the encroachment of farmers’ land by mining companies.
Admitting that the entire region, including Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, had been seriously impacted both environmentally and socially, the summary report of WGEEP cites the many mining, power projects and polluting industries — often run illegally — as the primary cause.
“More than being a legal issue, it is the substantially high levels of these activities that are to be held responsible for the degradation. For instance, many farmers complain of miners muscling their way onto private land and digging pits. Pollution from many industries is also well above legally permissible limits.
Consequently, there is much social discord, especially because people firmly believe that the law and order machinery is being misused to protect illegal activities,” mentions the summary report.
DNA had exposed the encroachment in Kalane mine, which is situated over the 32 acres of land in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg zone. The region which has the thickest forest covers in the Sindhudurg district. Villagers narrated how the mining companies dumped the silt from their mine on the adjacent lands. And once the silt is dumped, the land becomes company’s property.
Ramakant Desai, a villager had told DNA that, the district collector had assured the villagers that the encroachment will not take place again. “In spite of the collector’s assurance, the encroachment continued,” Desai had informed.
The WGEEP report in its recommendations has strongly proposed that, instead of only techno-centric study, people’s deep locality specific knowledge of environmental issues and their developmental aspirations should be taken in to consideration.
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