Areca growers urge Union, State government to reject Kasturirangan report recommendation
The All India Areca Growers’ Association is urging the government to reject the Kasturirangan report, which recommends eco-sensitive area restrictions in the Western Ghats. Farmers argue that these regulations threaten their livelihoods and ignore their role in historical conservation.
Why it matters
This reflects the conflict between top-down environmental policy and the economic survival of rural agricultural communities.
The All India Areca Growers’ Association, Puttur, Dakshina Kannada, has urged both the Union and State governments to completely reject the recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee report.
The Western Ghats is an important environmental asset of the country, and its conservation is essential. However, in the name of conservation, it is unacceptable to impose restrictions on the livelihoods of farmers and rural people who have been farming in the foothills of the mountain range for many generations, association president, Mahesh Puchchappady, and general secretary, C.G. Venkatagirish, said in a release on Friday.
The pros and cons of the latest draft notification issued by the Union government proposing an eco-sensitive area that covers 20,668 sq. km. spread across 1,449 villages in Karnataka were discussed at a meeting of the association.
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