Calicut, Kerala: Kasturirangan report that recommends the eviction of farmers from the Western Ghats region is destructive, said Chukki Nanjudaswamy, Chairperson of Amritabhoomi Trust.
She was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the International Council for Environmental Protection (ICEP), a network of farmers and environmentalists. Developed and industrialized countries, responsible for high carbon emissions and global warming are shifting their blame on small farmers, with vested intents.
She argued that those who have stolen our seeds, soil and water are now proposing solutions for environmental protection. It is these ‘experts’ who script environmental protection policies from the comfort of their air-conditioned rooms, whom we should be suspicious of, she warned.
Farmers who work on the soil are our best bet to protect the environment. Any attempt to evict them from their traditional farm lands must be resisted sternly, she added.
We should not allow the State-Corporate nexus to dictate the terms of environmental protection to us. People should be at the forefront of this decision making and Kerala can provide an example to the rest of the country in doing this.
(Translated from Malayalam, first published at http://www.mathrubhumi.com/kozhikode/malayalam-news/kozhikode-1.1812150)