IAS Current affairs - Why is Kerala protesting Supreme Court’s ESZ notification

Why is Kerala protesting Supreme Court’s ESZ notification

For Prelims

  • Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala
  • Established in 2020.

For mains

What is ESZ
  • Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas are areas within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
  • ESZs are notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act 1986.
  • The purpose of declaring eco-sensitive zones around protected areas is for creating some kind of a ‘Shock Absorber’ for the protected area.
Issue for Kerala
  • Nearly 30% of Kerala is forested land and the Western Ghats occupies 48% of the State.
  • Moreover, there is a network of lakes, canals, wetlands and the 590-kilometre-long coastline, which are all governed by a series of environmental conservation and protection legislations, leaving little space for its 3.5 crore population to occupy.
  • Kerala has the third highest population density in the country with over 850 people per square kilometre.
What state is demanding
  • The Kerala State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Central government to exclude the State’s human habitations, farmlands and public institutions from the purview of the Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ).

       Source The Hindu

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