Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed officials to take tough measures against unauthorized layouts, plantations, homestays and resorts that have sprung up in the Western Ghats region.
The Minster ordered the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department to clear encroachments on all forest land from 2015 in Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Mysuru,
Chamarajanagar, Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu and Hassan districts as well as other parts of Western Ghats.
Within a month
Mr. Khandre said strict measures should be taken against unauthorized layouts including plantations and making sure that we restore such sites from encroachment. He also asked officers to compile an action taken report on this issue and submit it within one month’s time.
The Environment Minister added that these tragedies are also a wake-up call for the people of Karnataka and the survival of the Western Ghats after Shirur landslide where 11 lives were lost and Wayanad mass destruction claimed over 200 souls.
According to him: This is because they have been far-sighted enough to realize that these tragic events are recurrent due to non-scientific dismantling of hillsides as well as building roads across them.
Heavy lorries in ghats
Moreover; he noted that heavy traffic in trucks through Western Ghats is another danger area where thousands of people visit hill stations during weekends under ‘tourism’ or ‘trekking’ pretexts. It was indicated here there may be cessation of trekking activities.
