Based on the identification of 36 major challenges in the highland regions, the Justice J. B. Koshy Commission has proposed 25 key recommendations to be implemented through nine departments: Forest and Wildlife, Revenue, Tourism, Local Self-Government, Agriculture, Environment, General Education, Higher Education, and Disaster Management. The report offers a precise analysis of the crises affecting the lives of people in the Western Ghats region of the state, stretching from Amburi in the south to Badiyadka in the north. These challenges arise from factors such as wildlife attacks, land laws, forest and wildlife protection laws, various environmental regulations, construction bans, and conditional land titles. The report also provides concrete solutions to these issues.
The Commission calls for the removal of unnecessary restrictions and oppressive laws, and for the creation of conditions that ensure livelihood development, infrastructure growth, and a life free from fear for the local population. It recommends amendments to land revenue laws that currently prevent construction and the establishment of industrial or employment-generating enterprises even on revenue land near forest boundaries. It further suggests ensuring legal protection so that people can live without fear of wildlife intrusion outside forest boundaries.
The report recommends the withdrawal of the retrospective amendments introduced in 2020 to the Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act of 1971, as well as the repeal of the EFL Act, 2003. It also proposes granting unconditional land titles to settlement lands occupied before 1 January 1997, and conducting a joint verification by the Revenue and Forest departments to demarcate forest boundaries. Furthermore, it recommends that Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks should not be extended into inhabited areas or agricultural lands. The report also calls for a re-examination of the acquisition of 34,000 acres of cultivated land declared as forest under the EFL Act, 2003, or alternatively, the provision of compensation in accordance with the national compensation law.
To address wildlife attacks, the Commission suggests invoking provisions such as Sections 62 and 11(b) of the existing law to declare wild boars as vermin. It recommends granting permission to drive away animals entering farmlands and residential areas, and to cull species that are not endangered. It also calls for the adoption of effective modern mechanisms to prevent wildlife from straying outside forest areas. The report emphasizes the need to amend land, forest, and environmental laws that restrict farmers’ rights and freedom over their land, thereby ensuring their economic stability, employment opportunities, and future development. It further recommends the establishment of a Wildlife Compensation Claims Tribunal and the repeal of stringent laws enacted by the state in 1972, 2003, and 2020.
Additional recommendations include regulating wildlife populations in accordance with the carrying capacity of forests; withdrawing laws such as construction bans; making land titles granted to farmers unconditional; maintaining primary education facilities despite declining population density; introducing more courses in highland colleges; promoting tourism; and removing restrictions that hinder infrastructure development. The report also calls for steps to enhance employment opportunities, industries, commercial centers, and cultural, health, and recreational facilities.
To prevent the misuse of legal provisions by the Forest Department against local inhabitants, the Commission recommends that arrests in forest-related cases should be made only with a court order, and that non-habitual offenders should be granted bail. It also clearly states that activities such as farming, house construction, digging wells, building cattle sheds and other structures, establishing places of worship and schools, and setting up workplaces should not be prohibited in the name of forest regulations. Furthermore, it recommends that people should not be evicted from legally held land under the pretext of disaster management laws without providing adequate compensation.
Dr. Josekutty J. Ozhukayil
(General Secretary, Catholic Congress)
