Monday, September 1, 2014

Kasturirangan report exceeded its brief: Prof Gadgil (Herald)

Kasturirangan report exceeded its brief: Prof Gadgil

Myth was created that my report in anti-development; Kasturirangan report should have taken our report as the base; Goa Foundation to move NGT against rejection of Gadgil report by MoEF

By | 30 Aug, 2014, 06:54PM IST

PANJIM: The head of the Western Ghats Ecology experts panel Professor Madhav Gadgil has said that K Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats had completely exceeded its brief and was nowhere in sync with his (The Madhav Gadgil Western Ghats ecology experts panel or WGEEP report). Professor Gadgil in an interview to Herald (read full interview in the Sunday edition), reacted to the decision of the Centre that it was not processing his Western Ghats report. The Centre made this clear in its affidavit to the National Green Tribunal where it stated “The ministry does not wish to process the WGEEP report and would take subsequent actions only in relation to the High Level Working Group report (better known as the Kasturirangan report).
The High Level Working Group headed by former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman K Kasturirangan was formed to examine the WGEEP report keeping in view comments made by stakeholders including State governments and central ministries.
Professor Gadgil told Herald, in Goa “The Kasturirangan committee was formed to holistically look at our report and examine stake holder responses. It’s base was the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel. It was not a separate panel doing an independent study. That wasn’t its mandate. Therefore I was surprised when Professor Kasturirangan, whom I know closely for the past 25 years, did not contact me at all”.
He went on to add that after the report was ready he was called for a dinner meeting in Pune by the Kasturirangan panel where he (Professor Gadgil) expressed his certain reservations about the direction of the Kasturirangan report. He had also desired that the deliberations of this meeting be recorded and the minutes circulated. “None of that happened as their mind was made up”, he said.
The Kasturirangan panel on its part had chosen the midway path of  development and environment protection, by considerably toning down the environmental regulation  recommended by the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel. The Kasturirangan report seeks to bring just 37 per cent of the Western Ghats under the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) zones — down from the 64 per cent recommended by Professor Gadgil’s team. 
Meanwhile, the Goa Foundation has decided to move the NGT against the decision of the Centre to reject the Gadgil report. It has said that it will not dispute the Kasturirangan report but calls upon the Ministry of Environment and Forests to explain what it will do with the ecologically sensitive areas demarcated in the Madhav Gadgil Report which are not in the Kasturirangan report.
Professor Gadgil when asked what could be the reason for his report being junked and the Kasturirangan report accepted, smiled and said ‘Do I have to tell you that. You are wise enough to understand the layers”. Asked if the reason could be that his report was death warrant to economic development he said, ‘A myth is being created that my report is anti-development. My report emphasised that ultimately the gram sabhas will have to deliberate and finally decide on whether their village should be eco-sensitive or not”.
 http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Kasturirangan-report-exceeded-its-brief-Prof-Gadgil/17841.html#.VAQZlVdh71U

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