ALAPPUZHA: The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) has rejected the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland (Amendment) Bill 2018. The pro-CPM group said the dilution of the strict wetland conservation rules would have far-reaching ecological consequences. They say it's also against the promises made in the election manifesto of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
"We were fighting for this cause (protection of the environment) for years," KSSP president T. Gangadharan told DC. "The hurriedness of the government to pass amendments without authentic data bank is quite worrisome." At least 600 panchayats have prepared databank on the status of land, he said, but not verified using satellite images or other reliable means. So regularising paddyland on its basis would destroy the environment. "We are sure there would be a widespread misuse of the Act by the vested interests to prove that the paddy land they had levelled was pre-2008," he said.
The KSSP president said Planning Board data showed the total wetland shrinking by 13 per cent and paddy production by 21 per cent. The other worry is that whether the amended version could allow people to level 10 cents paddy land without perusal of authorities for commercial and housing purposes by remitting half of the amount of the fair value as a fee. However, it had no clarification on how many times a person can level 10 cents of paddy land for constructing a house, and the limitation of not notified paddy land a person is allowed to fill up.
