The Kerala government has published a new Kuttampuzha Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) map that excludes the village’s identified habitation areas and submitted it to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for consideration. The map covers 476.19 square kilometres of forest area while leaving out 43.09 square kilometres classified as inhabited areas.
The proposal relates to Kuttampuzha village in Kothamangalam, the only village in Ernakulam district included when the Western Ghats ecologically sensitive area was identified. Residents had earlier raised concerns that the entire village, including populated locations, could be brought within the ESA limits.
According to the map released through the state government website, Kuttampuzha village has a total area of 519.28 square kilometres. The proposed ESA portion measures 476.19 square kilometres, with the remaining 43.09 square kilometres of habitation areas excluded from the designation.
The detailed proposal has been mapped in a KML file released on October 12 by the state Environment and Climate Change Department. KML, or Keyhole Markup Language, is a digital file format that allows mapped boundaries and locations to be viewed geographically. The department said the file was made available for public information.
The map submitted to the Centre excludes the populated areas that had generated concern among residents, including Manikandanchaal, Kallelimedu, Mamalakandam and Inchathotty. It also excludes tribal settlements, including Kunchippara, Thalavachappara, Variyam, Thera, Uriyampetty and Vellarankuthu, according to the report published by Mathrubhumi.
The state had earlier communicated its recommendation to the Union government. During a visit to Kerala by a central team from July 14 to 16, state officials stated that Kerala’s position was to limit the state’s ESA coverage to 8,590.69 square kilometres across 98 villages. The team met Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, ministers Shibu Baby John and Sunny Joseph, and senior officials on July 15, according to the report.
The state government’s submission came amid a continuing process over the extent of ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats. The report said the Union government issued a draft notification on July 27, before the central team submitted its report.
For residents of Kuttampuzha, the newly released map provides a publicly accessible representation of the state’s proposed boundary and identifies the habitation areas that Kerala wants excluded from the ESA. The map’s release also gives residents and other stakeholders an opportunity to examine the locations included within and excluded from the proposal.
The proposal remains part of the process between the Kerala government and the Union Environment Ministry. The next formal step will depend on the Centre’s consideration of the state’s submitted map and recommendation.
