Karnataka: Villagers see demon in Kasturirangan report
Although the state government has opposed the report in its present form and submitted its suggestions on it.
Mangaluru: “We have been hearing about the Kasturirangan report, but we don’t know what it contains. Some people say villagers will be evacuated if it is accepted and others that no developmental work will be allowed. We are confused,” says rickshaw driver, Monu from the remote village of Killur, located in the foothills of the Western Ghats.
While the report is widely discussed whether in a barber shop or panchayat office, there is no clarity on its contents, he laments. For the villagers, the Kasturirangan report is the demon they must escape although they don’t even know what it says, he adds.
Although the state government has opposed the report in its present form and submitted its suggestions on it, most are sceptical about the Centre accepting its views.
“We have no proper information about the report. Neither officials nor elected representatives are willing to tell us anything.
About three years ago there were rumours that the Modi government would stop its implementation, but people are still afraid of losing their homes and livelihood as a result of it,” adds Monu.
The state government appears to be paying the price for not making the report public in the vernacular language like the Kerala government, which translated the entire report into Malayalam and printed about 10,000 copies of it to distribute among the people.
“The state government should have translated the report into Kannada and distributed it among the villagers. This would have given them a clear idea of its contents,” says NECF state secretary, Shashidhar Shetty, pointing out that the report hardly speaks of protecting the environment as it permits even major projects like Yettinahole.
Also, it makes no mention of eviction and bans only chemicals, red category industries, huge constructions, sand mining and quarrying, point out greens.