Why is Kerala protesting Supreme Court’s ESZ notification
For Prelims
- Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala
- Established in 2020.
For mains
What is ESZ
- Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas are areas within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- ESZs are notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act 1986.
- The purpose of declaring eco-sensitive zones around protected areas is for creating some kind of a ‘Shock Absorber’ for the protected area.
Issue for Kerala
- Nearly 30% of Kerala is forested land and the Western Ghats occupies 48% of the State.
- Moreover, there is a network of lakes, canals, wetlands and the 590-kilometre-long coastline, which are all governed by a series of environmental conservation and protection legislations, leaving little space for its 3.5 crore population to occupy.
- Kerala has the third highest population density in the country with over 850 people per square kilometre.
What state is demanding
- The Kerala State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Central government to exclude the State’s human habitations, farmlands and public institutions from the purview of the Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ).
Source The Hindu
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