Bangalore: Comparing Western Ghats to the character of Draupadi in Mahabharata, Ecologist Madhav Gadgil on Wednesday said the inappropriate government policies are stripping the Western Ghats of all their resources. He was speaking at Bio Diversity Asia 2012, a gathering of ecologists from around the world. The Dushyasana here is bad governance. There is no Krishna to save the Western Ghats. It is just wasteful consumption in order to show off, Gadgil said.
Lashing out at the skewed government policies which permitted setting up of a windmill at Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary area in Maharastra, Gadgil pointed out that the initial report of the Range Forest Officer, which recommended the area to be declared an ecologically sensitive zone was overruled by his superior. Gadgil accused the forest officer of submitting a false report to permit the windmill project. The CF (Territorial) completely falsified his report by stating there was no wildlife and only bushy growth in the area, he said while showing pictures to prove his point.
Gadgil also stated that the economic reforms seeking the entry of Foreign Direct Investment into the country would result in major environmental degradation. This kind of development is unsustainable. We cannot compete with China, their exports are more than their imports while our case is just the opposite. We are trying to compete by inviting FDI which will result in environmental degradation and take away our policy making abilities, he said.
Speaking on the sidelines after the lecture, Gadgil said that
01:28 PM, Aug 09, 2012
Bangalore: The state Assembly on Thursday passed an unanimous resolution opposing UNESCO heritage tag for Western Ghats and shot down Centres proposal to declare Kudremukh National Park (KNP) as tiger reserve. The state government will now approach the Centre to delist Western Ghats from UNESCOs world heritage site list. Despite state governments opposition, the Centre had approved UNESCOs proposal to accord heritage tag to Western Ghats. We will not accept...
12:18 PM, Jul 27, 2012
Bangalore: The Karnataka government's opposition to UNESCO's heritage tag for the Western Ghats is being strongly criticised by greens and environmental scientists as illogical and another example of the BJP administration's ignorance about global issues. The greens have also trashed state Forest Minister C.P. Yogeshwar's claims that the heritage tag will prevent development and spur Maoist activities. The Western Ghats are a 1,600-km-long mountain range spread over a 140,000 sq...
12:22 PM, Jul 09, 2012
Bangalore: Karnataka on Wednesday said the state was against UNESCO declaring 10 spots in Western Ghats as world heritage sites as it would affect development work. Minister for Forest CP Yogeshwar said in Bangalore that though the state had opposed the proposal, the Centre has gone ahead with the notification. Development efforts will be hit if these places were declared as world heritage spots and people living there would face...
06:26 PM, Jul 04, 2012
New York: India's 1600-km long Western Ghats mountain chain, which has forests older than the Himalaya mountains, has been added to list of world heritage sites by the United Nations. The Western Ghats mountain chain is recognised as one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity. The chain's forests, which are older than the Himalaya mountains influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. The ghats, which start at the...
12:48 PM, Jul 02, 2012
This week on 30 Minutes special, CNN-IBN Environment Editor, Bahar Dutt travels through the Western Ghats with scientists in search of the lost amphibians of India. ...
10:15 AM, Oct 16, 2011
This week on 30 Minutes special, CNN-IBN Environment Editor, Bahar Dutt travels through the Western Ghats with scientists in search of the lost amphibians of India. We take you on a journey, which starts on the forest floor introducing tiny amphibians said to be the barometer of the forest, some of these species have not been seen since the last century when they were first discovered in the early 1900s...
04:42 PM, Oct 12, 2011
More trouble brewing for Amma as new controversy dogs Kodanadu estate. ...
08:25 PM, Sep 21, 2007
Realty developers are buying land in Western Ghats, lured by gold. ...
08:52 AM, Sep 09, 2007
The Ghats are luring nature lovers once again, as the ghats get soaked in monsoon rains and offer many attractions. ...
03:43 PM, Jun 18, 2007
Karunanidhi’s statement on AIADMK chief’s property enrages her supporters, thousands detained. ...
12:49 AM, Jun 08, 2007
The monsoon has arrived and one can get a true taste of the great Indian monsoon at the Western Ghats. ...
08:25 AM, Jun 06, 2007
Waterfalls, pristine beaches, varied flora, fauna - these are some of Karnataka's best kept secrets. ...
08:38 AM, Oct 31, 2006
