The former Minister B. Ramanath Rai at a press conference in Mangaluru on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement more-in The Congress will hold a State-wide protest if the Centre notifies ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in the Western Ghats as per the recommendation of the Kasturirangan committee disregarding the State’s opposition, said the former Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology B. Ramanath Rai here on Thursday. Talking to reporters, Mr. Rai said that a draft notification by the Centre, in 2014, notified 20,688 square km in 1,576 villages of 10 districts in the State, including Dakshina Kannada, as ESAs based on the Kasturirangan Committee’s report. The State government then carried out a detailed physical verification and sought substantial means of compensation to mitigate hardship to displaced families. Disregarding the State’s contention, the Centre issued another draft notification on February 27, 2017. A Cabinet Sub-committee then held detailed consultations with elected representatives and people. The committee found that the State has 30,573 square kilometres of forest cover which was more than the area envisaged by the Kasturirangan committee. As the Cabinet Sub-committee had said that Kasturirangan Committee report could not be implemented, the State government accordingly conveyed its opinion to the Centre in April 2017. Minister in-charge for Dakshina Kannada U.T. Khader told reporters that the Centre on July 13 asked the State government to constitute a committee to look into the apprehensions and concerns of the State regarding declaration of ESAs. It has been told to send its views along with maps of ESA area, geo cooridnates and list of villages that will help the Centre to expedite the process of final notification of ESAs in Western Ghats, he said.

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