Use of plantation land in State for tourism activities The ecological impacts of the decision to allow construction of resorts and hotels in plantations will be assessed by the Kerala Forest Department. Minister for Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar says that officials of the department will be asked to look into the possible impacts of the order on forest ecosystems and wildlife. The order is applicable only to private estates and officers stationed near these estates will be put on high alert. Night travel along forest routes to these estates will be regulated. Checking of vehicles and passengers and other law-enforcement mechanisms will be stepped up at forest check-posts, Mr. Ganesh Kumar says. Unauthorised entry into forest areas adjoining the estates will be strictly curbed and the Forest Conservation Act and the Wildlife Protection Act will be enforced, he says. V.D. Satheesan, MLA, terms the government decision ‘irrational’ and one that will lead to serious ecological implications. Earlier, plantations were exempted from the purview of the land ceiling Act, which fixes the maximum extent of land one can hold at 15 acres, as plantation crops were not feasible on fragmented holdings. The sprit of the legislation has been torpedoed by the order. It will also help people bypass the land ceiling, he says. There exists the possibility of large plantations being split into small holdings and each unit setting apart five per cent of its area for construction of hotels and resorts. This will lead to large-scale land fragmentation in the State. If someone decides to construct a 10-storey hotel complex on his land, no one can object to it as there is no regulatory mechanism or guidelines regarding this, he says. The move will lead to massive conversion of land and change the land-use patterns and nearly 90,000 acres will be diverted in this fashion in the State, which will have wider ecological ramifications, Mr. Satheesan say. Panel guidelines The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), in its report, suggests that infrastructure expansion plans in Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 and 2 ‘should be submitted for Environment Impact Assessment scrutiny by the urban local body of the local planning authority before execution of projects, especially assessing the cost-benefits considering ecological costs and public benefits.’ For all ecotourism activities in Zone 1, the WGEEP suggests that the ecotourism policy of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest shall be followed with ‘minimal impact tourism in the region.’ It suggests ‘strict regulation for waste management, traffic, and water use in such zones.’ In the other two zones, the panel suggests ‘strict regulations on the basis of a tourism master plan and social audit.’ The panel also proposes that the construction activities across three zones should follow a building code to be evolved by the Western Ghats Ecology Authority and include ‘inter-alia eco-friendly building material and construction methods, minimising the use of steel, cement and sand, providing water harvesting methods, non-conventional energy, and waste treatment.’ ‘The application or detailing of the framework would be done by local authorities to suit local conditions,’ it says. V.D. Satheesan terms move irrational Enforcement to be stepped up: Minister