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States are divided in their reaction to the World Heritage status to a cluster of 39 biodiversity hotspots in the Western Ghats with some welcoming it and a few others opposing the decision by the Unesco.
At the same time, conservationists welcomed it, saying the “government of India is accountable to protect” India’s 1,600-km Western Ghats mountain ranges, older than the Himalayas.
Kerala happy
Kerala, which leads with 20 sites being inscribed in the heritage list, welcomed the decision.
“We welcome the decision. It is our duty to protect the remaining biosphere reserves in the Western Ghats,” the Kerala Forest Minister, Mr K.B. Ganesh Kumar told PTI.
He, however, pointed out that protecting the ecologically sensitive area would be a “herculean task and huge funding is needed for it as there is tremendous developmental as well as population pressure on the mountains.”
Karnataka sceptical
In contrast, Karnataka has said the State was against the Unesco declaration as it would affect development work.
According to the Forest Minister, Mr C.P. Yogeshwar, development efforts in the area would be hit and the people living there would face hardship.
The Centre has apparently rejected Karnataka’s stand.
Sources said the Environment Minister, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, is of the view that the States are bound to accept the decision taken by a 21-nation panel of the World Heritage Committee as it was pushed by the Centre.
“The Centre and the state governments are accountable to protect these sites,” said Dr V.S. Vijayan, noted environmentalist and a member of the Western Ghat ecology expert panel. “Now, protecting these sites is an international obligation,” he told PTI.
Officials of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were not reachable for their comment.
Five sites in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra will also be inscribed as Unesco’s World Heritage sites.
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