“Kasturi Rangan report should be implemented with caution”

Bengaluru:  The implementation of the Kasturi Rangan report for the conservation of the Western Ghats in Karnataka should be taken up only after the government conducts a joint survey of revenue and forest lands to safeguard the interests of all concerned,  MP Shreyas Patel has cautioned.

Speaking at a meeting presided over by Forest, Biology and Environment Minister Ishwar Khandre, Patel said there are many confusions in the Kasturi      Rangan report. “If this report is implemented, the people living there will not be able to spray their gardens with chemical fertilizers, make a pellet, sawdust or cut trees,” he said.

The government should first conduct a joint survey with the revenue and forest departments to identify the forest lands and revenue lands.  Then the government should identify red, yellow and green zones on the Kerala model to protect the forest and protect the people living around the forest area, he demanded.

In view of the fact that the Central government has issued the 6th notification on the Western Ghats eco-sensitive area on August 2, and the state government’s position has to be submitted by the end of this month, in the meeting of the people’s representatives (obligators) of 11 districts held on Thursday at Vidhan Soudha conference hall, some people’s representatives have also suggested that the report can be implemented in Karnataka with certain conditions.