: In Kerala, development projects cleared amid lockdown threaten the state’s ecological balance #IndiaNEWS With Kerala all set to face yet another assembly election in 2021, a series of policy decisions

In Kerala, development projects cleared amid lockdown threaten the state’s ecological balance #IndiaNEWS
With Kerala all set to face yet another assembly election in 2021, a series of policy decisions taken by the Left Democratic Front government, to clear environmentally controversial projects with possibly very serious impacts on the state’s fragile ecosystem, are evoking widespread concern.Clearance for a new greenfield airport at an ecologically fragile portion of the Western Ghats close to famous pilgrim station Sabarimala, green signal for a multi-crore semi high-speed rail corridor with huge ecological and social effects, attempts to quarry and transport sand from river Pampa near Sabarimala, go ahead for the controversial Athirappilly hydel power project in Thrissur district, and lifting of a long enforced blanket ban on illegal quarries across the state are some of the issues of high environmental concerns in Kerala.Though there have been community protests against these projects, the state government is using the prevailing lockdown as an excuse to move forward all these projects, which would create long term impacts on the state’s environmental and social equilibria.New airport near SabarimalaWhile the state government is facing extreme financial constraints in the ongoing fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, what has raised eyebrows is the move to set up a full-fledged international greenfield airport about 48 km from the famous pilgrim centre of Sabarimala.The airport would be the...Read more

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