ESA exclusion row puts UDF under pressure in Pathanamthitta
The CPI(M) is threatening protests in Pathanamthitta over the government's handling of the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) draft notification. The opposition demands the exclusion of seven villages from the ESA, arguing that current proposals threaten local livelihoods and exacerbate human-wildlife conflict.
Why it matters
The tension highlights the ongoing conflict between environmental conservation efforts and the rights of local communities in ecologically sensitive regions.
The forest fringes of Pathanamthitta are bracing for a fresh round of protests over the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), with the CPI(M) threatening an indefinite agitation and demanding that the United Democratic Front (UDF) government seek the complete exclusion of all the seven villages covered by the Union government’s draft notification.
The escalation comes days after the State submitted a revised proposal to the Centre seeking the exclusion of inhabited areas and agricultural land from the ESA. But none of the seven Pathanamthitta villages included in the Centre’s draft notification figures in the State’s list of villages proposed for exclusion, giving the Opposition fresh grounds to press its demand.
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