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
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| 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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