The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Mankulam forests notified as reserve

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 18, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Mankulam forests notified as reserve

Special Correspondent

9,500 hectares of land to be protected

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government notified 9,500 hectares of forested areas at Mankulam as reserve forests on Wednesday.

Minister for Forests Binoy Viswam told presspersons here on Thursday that the Government had notified nearly 12,700 hectares of land as reserve forests during the past year, resulting in a three per cent increase in such areas. These included 3,200 hectares transferred from the Revenue Department and declared the Kurinjimala sanctuary and 1,100 hectares notified as bio-reserve at Wagamon.

He said about 5,300 hectares earmarked for transfer to the Forest Department under the Kannan Devan Hills (Resumption) Act years ago would now be notified. Out of the land originally proposed to be transferred, 1,600 hectares were encroached. These areas might be notified after a joint verification by the Forest and Revenue departments.

Mr. Viswam noted that the Mankulam forests, according to studies conducted by the French Institute, Puducherry, was one of the richest biodiversity areas in the world. Many environmental activists and nature lovers had been demanding their notification.

He said encroachers were likely to raise a hue and cry over the notification in the name of farmers. However, the Government proposed to evict no farmer. The areas notified now were in the possession of the Forest Department.

Environment Day

He said students would plant a record 20-lakh trees on Environment Day (June 5). The second tiger sanctuary in the State (covering Chinnar, Eravikulam and Parambikulam) would be notified soon.

Orders for starting the first sandalwood factory in the public sector would be issued shortly. The factory would start functioning in a few months time.

Action against graft

Listing out the achievements of the department during the past year, the Minister said that protection of forests and elimination of corruption were among the major achievements, besides increase in area under reserve forests.

Theft of sandalwood trees could be brought down from an average of 8.42 a day during the United Democratic Front rule to 0.02 a day. The target was total prevention of theft in the coming years.

He recalled that the department had been carrying out a number of schemes, such as promotion of orchards of indigenous varieties of mangos, planting of trees in coastal areas (Theeravanam scheme), protection of river banks and sacred groves and the Vazhiyora Thanal Scheme.

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