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'Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats will prevent excessive mining'
New Delhi, July 7
Implementing the
Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats will prevent excessive mining
in the region, union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar
said on Tuesday.
He noted that the effort of the government was
to preserve the sanctity of the Western Ghats and also ensure
sustainable development in the region by providing livelihood
opportunities.
The minister said the report once implemented will also help the region avoid getting polluted due to the industries.
"The
real importance of the implementation of the Kasturirangan report on
the Western Ghats is that excessive commercial mining and polluting
industries will not be permitted in the region," Javadekar told
reporters.
He said it will not have any impact on the livelihood
of the people and that all fears about mining were misplaced and the
misgivings must be done away with.
Javadekar said a meeting was
held to discuss the recommendations of the officials of the states who
visited villages in the region and held discussions with the people.
"A
majority of the people of the villages said they do not want polluting
industries and commercial mining in their area. All the states have
given their proposals and have also got public opinion, as well as
scientific studies done," Javadekar said.
The government will finalise the decision on the Western Ghats by August-end, he said.
A
working group headed by then Planning Commission member K.
Kasturirangan had given its report on the Western Ghats to the
environment ministry in April 2013.
Kasturirangan had said it was
imperative to protect, manage and regenerate the land now remaining in
the Western Ghats as biologically rich, diverse, natural landscapes.
The
ministry had published a draft notification last year for declaring an
ecologically sensitive area in the Western Ghats in Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The
identified ecologically sensitive area represents a continuous band of
natural vegetation, extending over a horizontal distance of about 1,500
km along the west coast of the country.
The Western Ghats is
regarded as a global biodiversity hotspot harbouring many endemic
species of flowering plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds,
mammals and invertebrates. It supports a population of about 50 million
people.