Former Congress MLA warns of stir against placing 40 villages in Dangs under ESA

On Friday, a gathering was held betwixt wood officials and villagers and leaders of Dangs wherever the cardinal government’s July 30 notification was discussed.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Gavit, who attended the meeting, said, “Over 65 to 70% of Dangs territory has wood area. The villagers of affected villages volition look immense problems for the repair of houses oregon renovation oregon operation of caller houses successful areas wherever they usage sands and rocks from adjacent h2o bodies. The villagers cannot walk much wealth to acquisition sands from Surat and Tapi districts. There volition beryllium issues against soil mining and chromatic quarrying activities successful these villages.”

He further added, “We person objected to the draught notification and implicit 20 villages person passed a solution astatine their gram panchayat gathering that their villages should not beryllium included successful the ESA. We volition transportation retired protests.”

Dangs North Deputy Conservator of Forest D N Rabari said, “We person carried retired an consciousness thrust successful each the 40 villages falling successful ESA and explained to radical determination is thing to worry, and mean activities volition continue. We person besides told the villagers that if they person immoderate objections they should springiness america successful writing. At the gathering tribal person Mangal Gavit had objected and raised his concerns with us. We are besides looking into it. We person fixed clip for radical to taxable their objections.”

Areas successful Gujarat (449 quadrate kilometers), Maharashtra (17,340 quadrate kilometers), Goa (1,461 quadrate kilometers), Karnataka (20,668 quadrate kilometers), Kerala (9993.7 quadrate kilometers) and Tamil Nadu (6914 quadrate kilometers) person been placed nether WGESA.

As per the draught notification, existing construction/activity successful the projected ESA volition not beryllium affected.

Mining of insignificant minerals successful the non wood country included successful the projected ESA shall beryllium permitted.

Installation of caller thermal powerfulness works oregon hold of existing thermal powerfulness works is prohibited. Apart from this the caller operation activities connected implicit 20,000 quadrate meters of country oregon enlargement of existing operation projects, operation of caller township bearing the country of implicit 1.50 lakh quadrate meters of onshore is banned.