Madhu Bangarappa asks people of Malnad region not to worry on ESA notification

Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa, who is also in charge of Shivamogga district, has reassured the people of the Malnad region not to worry about the State government's rejection of the draft notification from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The draft notification declares the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).

Bangarappa, speaking to the media, emphasized that the Union government had re-released the draft notification and that the current Congress government, led by D.K. Shivakumar, supports the Malnad region's people and opposes the ESA declaration. The notification identifies 20,668 sq. km, encompassing 1,576 villages across Karnataka, including 484 villages in Shivamogga district, as ESA.

This decision has caused concern among farmers in the Malnad region due to the inclusion of inhabited areas and agricultural land within the ESA. Bangarappa highlighted that elected representatives, including senior MLA R.V. Deshpande and legislators from Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru, have also opposed the notification, urging the State government to take a stance against it.

He criticized the BJP legislators for not discussing the issue in the session and not making an effort to prevent the draft notification at the Centre.