Porvorim (GNH): BJP MLA Dr Deviya Rane representing Poriem assembly constituency told the House that the state government should reconsider the proposal to include 63 villages from Sattari as eco-sensitive zone in the western ghats.
While speaking on the demands for grants for Science, Environment and Technology department during ongoing Assembly session, Rane questioned whether government plans to transport these people living in the forests to the cities by declaring their areas a eco sensitive areas.
“Some people demand that their villages be declared as tiger reserve, some want to declare as eco sensitive areas. Where will be the people living in these villages go? Should they go to the cities and stay? The people living in cities will not understand the pain of these villagers,” she said.
The Poriem MLA pointed out that the draft notification on Western Ghat dated July 2022 had included 55 villages of Sattari as eco sensitive areas, for which we had protested.
The fresh notification issued on July 31, 2024 has now included 63 villages, she pointed out adding “when we spoke last time, we had requested that the villages should be removed from eco sensitive areas as our people are already reeling under Mhadei wildlife sanctuary.”
She said that the people who are living in these villages for decades are facing difficulties in rearing cattle and also cultivating forest paddy fields.
“Because it is a western ghat and bio diversity hot spot. We have to also be sensitive towards the local. When this notification came up we had immediately said that we don’t agree with it,” she said.
Rane said that the list of eco sensitive areas include village like Bhuipal (in Sattari) which has industry like Automobile Corporation of Goa Limited (ACGL) providing employment to the locals.
“You can imagine how many people are going to be displaced, lose their homes and lose their existence with this notification,” she said adding that the people of Sattari , in the past, had already sent a memorandum with 10,000 signatures to Union Ministry of Environment and Forest expressing our objection.
Rane pointed out that the Planning commission has laid down guidelines for the villages to be declared as eco sensitive in western ghat which mentions that 20 per cent of taluka should be 600 metres above mean sea level, the areas should be forest and villages should be contiguous to ESA of western ghats of neighbouring state.
“Before including any villages, these criteria should be considered,” she added.
