After a row over implementation of an expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panels to study the Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the six States through which the ecologically sensitive hills traverse.
Environment Minister M. Veerappa Moily said the States concerned should appoint committees to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. After the committees submit their reports, efforts will be made by the Centre to find solutions.
“Concern of the State Governments will have to be addressed,” Moily told PTI in an interview here.
“There was one report made by the (Madhav) Gadgil Committee. After that (K) Kasturirangan Committee was appointed (to study it). ...No new committee at the central level. I think committees are not going to solve the problems. Many committees more problems,” Moily told PTI in an interview.
His comments came against the backdrop of a major controversy created by the implementation of the Kasturirangan Committee recommendations, which was seen by locals as prohibiting even plantation activities in the Western Ghats.
The committee’s report was implemented during the tenure of Moily’s predecessor Jayanthi Natarajan, who was forced to issue a clarification, just a day before her sudden exit from the Ministry.
The 1,600-km-long Western Ghats pass through Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.