Kerala has reiterated its demand for regularisation of pre-1977 encroachments on forest land. (image for representational purposes)
| Photo Credit: JOMON PAMPAVALLEY
Kerala has reiterated its demand for regularisation of pre-1977 encroachments on forest land and steps to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act to declare wild pig as vermin.
The Kerala government has also sought special financial assistance to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts in a memorandum submitted to the Centre.
Revenue Minister K. Rajan and Forests Minister A.K. Saseendran raised the contentious issues during a discussion with Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi on February 7 (Wednesday).
Prime among the set of demands is the long-standing one on regularising encroachments prior to January 1, 1977. The proposal jointly put forth by the Revenue and the Forest departments relates to the occupied forest land spread across 2,499.5961 hectares of land in Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kannur. While over 8,500 families awaited land titles, Pathanamthitta alone accounts for nearly 6,350 families who have occupied 1,970.041 hectares of land.
Joint verification reports
While the State government has conveyed its willingness to submit joint verification reports, the Centre’s insistence on conclusive proof of occupation prior to 1977 has hindered the efforts.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government also took up the issue of Centrally-sponsored schemes that have stalled owing to the “inconsistency and variance” in sanctioning funds.
The State has sought the release of Central shares for the following projects: Project Tiger (balance amount of Central share: ₹4.35 crore), Project Elephant (₹2.33 crore), Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (₹11.08 crore), conservation and management of mangroves in Vembanad and Kannur regions (₹3.42 crore), and Green India Mission (₹54.72 crore).
The Forest department has also sought ₹3.704 crore for implementing the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitat and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI), a project announced in the Union Budget of 2023-24. The State has proposed executing the scheme to conserve the existing mangrove vegetations and establishing new mangrove plantations in Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kasaragod.
Cost-sharing formula
Reiterating its proposal to implement a comprehensive project worth ₹620 crore to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, the State has proposed a 60:40 cost-sharing formula between the Central and State governments, considering the fiscal crunch faced by the latter and the coverage of ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats in Kerala.
The government also highlighted the problems caused by the “population explosion” of wild pigs and various species of monkeys that have been wreaking havoc in human habitations.
Though the State government had adopted steps under Section 11(1)(b) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act to eliminate problematic wild pigs (sus scrofa) by empowering Panchayati Raj institutions, such efforts have yielded minimal success due to the lack of licensed shooters as well as the long-drawn procedural formalities. Under such circumstances, the government has urged the Centre to declare wild pigs as vermin for a period of at least one year.
