Days after devastating landslides claimed the lives of more than 300 people in the Wayanad district of Kerala, the Congress party began targeting the Modi government for non-implementation of the recommendations of the Gadgil Commission.
On Saturday (3rd July), veteran party leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “On August 5th, 2019, during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, I had raised the issue of the protection of the Western Ghats.”
He accused the Centre of declaring only 57,000 square km or 36% of the land area of the Western Ghats as “eco-sensitive” instead of 64% as recommended by the Gadgil Commission in 2011.
On August 5th, 2019, during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, I had raised the Issue of the protection of the Western Ghats. Only on July 31, 2024, following the Wayanad catastrophe, does the Union Government seem to have finally moved to declare some 57,000 square kilometers (36% of… pic.twitter.com/LSaTXEKCcD
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 2, 2024
“The delay in the ‘ecologically sensitive area’ tag has enabled rampant and careless commercialization, and is directly responsible for this human tragedy,” Jairam Ramesh blamed the ‘delay’ on the part of the Modi government for the Wayanad landslides.
He further claimed that the Centre was implementing the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee and insinuated that they were not environment-friendly.
“The Union Government instead appears to have gone with the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee. This will result in future ecological disasters, and will threaten the livelihood and water security of the people living in these areas,” the veteran Congress leader brazened out.
The origin of the Gadgil Commission
The year was 2010. Jairam Ramesh was heading the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) at that time.
He had appointed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) to study the impact of climate change, increasing population and development activities on the Western Ghats.
The panel was headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil (hence also called the Gadgil Commission). It had submitted its 522-page report [pdf] to the Congress-led-UPA government on 31st August 2011.
Recommendations by the Gadgil Commission and Congress’ ire
One of the key recommendations was the designation of 64% of the total area of Western Ghats as ‘Ecologically Sensitize Zones (ESZ)’. The area was to be demarcated as ESZ1, ESZ2 and ESZ3, based on the degree of protection.
The Gadgil Commission called for the complete cessation of development activities such as the construction of dams, thermal power plants and mining in such areas. It sought the decommissioning of such development projects which had surpassed their shelf life in ESZ1.
The Commission called for the prohibition of Genetically Modified Crops (GMC), the use of plastic bags, non-creation of new hill stations in ESZs. It emphasised on local participation, decentralisation and a top-to-bottom approach to environmental governance.
Congress chickens out
A total of six States, namely, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were to be impacted by the implementation of the Gadgil Commission report.
The major opposition came from the State of Kerala, which was under the Congress-led-United Democratic Front at that that.
UDF opposed the recommendations tooth and nail, fearing loss of livelihood and ‘hindrance’ to development activities like quarrying and sand mining.
The implementation of the Gadgil Commission report would have led to restrictions on wind energy projects, transport infrastructure, hydroelectric projects and inter-basin transfer of river waters.
Vested interests at play
Faced with Opposition from its State unit, the Congress government at the Centre shelved the report and constituted a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats (HLWG) under former ISRO chief Dr K Kasturirangan.
The aim was to rationalise Ecologically Sensitize Zones (ESZs) to facilitate development works, as demanded by the UDF.
Compared to the Gadgil Commission report, Kasturirangan called for the notification of only 37% of the total area of Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive. The role of local communities in the economic decision-making process was reduced.
Now, here's something.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) August 3, 2024
Cong Communications cell chief Jairam Ramesh: NDA's reported decision to notify 36% of the land area falls hugely short of the 64% of land area protection level recommended by the Madhav Gadgil Working Group in 2011. This will result in future ecological… pic.twitter.com/BC00oXKqnX
By 2014, the government had put the Gadgil Commission report on the back burner permanently.
According to Dr V S Vijayan, who was a member of the Gadgil Committee, the decision to shelve the report by the Congress government was influenced by the mining lobby.
In an interview with Rediff in 2013, he remarked, “If you go to the Kasturirangan report, on page 10, there is a pie chart which shows very clearly who is behind this. Around 1,700 letters have come on the Gadgil Committee report out of which 81 percent was against it and out of that, 53 percent was from the mining lobby. So, there is concrete evidence to show who was behind it!”
Pot calling the kettle black ft. Congress
Since the 2018 flood that wreaked havoc on Kerala, Jairam Ramesh has been a vocal proponent of the implementation of the Gadgil Commission report. He has been portraying himself and his party as a champion of people’s welfare and environmental causes.
But he conveniently forgets that the reason the Gadgil Commission recommendations never saw the light of the day was due to the Congress party.
