Church leaders in Keralam call for urgent steps to address concerns over ESA draft for Western Ghats villages

The State government should take urgent steps to address the growing concerns among high-range farmers over the draft notification on the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the Western Ghats, said Thrissur Archdiocese Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council secretary Joshi Vadakkan.

The Centre and the State should hold discussions to rectify provisions in the draft notification that could undermine the constitutional rights of high-range farmers and tribal communities to live and pursue their livelihoods without fear, they said.

The State government should convene a special session of the Legislative Assembly to discuss the concerns of more than 35 lakh people living in 131 villages covered by the proposal, they said.