Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Families to be relocated from vulnerable areas of coast

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forest Minister Benoy Viswom has said that the government is working on a project to relocate people from coastal areas vulnerable to tidal surge, wave action and other natural calamities.

He was inaugurating a workshop for members of the committees involved in the Harithatheeram project to create a green belt along the coast here on Wednesday.

Mr. Viswom stressed the need for people’s participation to rehabilitate the families to be displaced. He said the stakeholder concept had proved to be successful in the implementation of the project. “As many as 176 Theera Samrakshana Vanavalkarana Samithis (TSVS) have been constituted across the State. An amount of Rs.98.88 lakh has already been spent on planting trees in the coastal belt. The project has generated 61,307 man-days of labour. A large number of women are involved in planting and monitoring the trees.”

Mr. Viswom alleged that a section of contractors and real estate developers were trying to torpedo the scheme for their vested interests. He accused them of instigating local people against the project.

Mr. Viswom said the government had identified 250 ha of the coastal belt for the creation of a natural barrier. “Experience shows that a bio-shield is one of the most effective methods of coastal protection. Harithatheeram has been conceived as a location-specific scheme.”

P.K. Mohanty, Principal Secretary, Forests and Wildlife; R.P. Sarma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; K.K. Sreevastav, Additional PCCF; G. Harikumar, Fisheries director, and Solomon Vettukad, Kannanthura ward councillor, were present at the function.

Hundreds of TSVS volunteers from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts participated in the workshop. The participatory project is being implemented in nine districts by the departments of Forest and Fisheries, with the assistance of the Revenue and Local Self-government departments. Apart from the creation of a green barrier against tidal surges and strong wave action, the five-year scheme envisages rehabilitation, planting and supply of saplings and awareness campaigns. It also includes entry point activities such as health and sanitation, drinking water supply, road development and construction of shelters against natural calamities. While the Fisheries Department has allocated Rs.154.39 crore, the Forest Department is providing Rs.25.56 crore.

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