IDUKKI:
A three-member team of Kerala Ministers today visited areas that would fall under the proposed Neelakurinji sanctuary near Munnar in this hilly district to elicit the views and allay fears of the local people on the boundary of the park.
Talking to reporters at Munnar, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan said the state government’s effort was to protect and preserve the biodiversity of the area, and also ally the fears of the local people. The sanctuary was aimed at protecting its biodiversity especially the ‘Neelakurinji’, a purplish blue flower which blooms only once in 12 years in Munnar.
He said settlers, who have legal documents to prove their claim on the land, would not be evicted. Forest Minister K Raju and Power Minister M M Mani are the two other members of the team.
The sanctuary became a topic of discussion close on the heels of the Revenue Department cancelling the title deeds of land plots, including the one owned by LDF-backed independent MP Joice George. It is proposed in a 3,200 hectare land in Munnar, which is part of biodiversity hot spot of Western Ghats.
In 2006, the then LDF government issued a preliminary notification for the proposed sanctuary. However nothing came of the project due to resistance from the local people. The CPM-led LDF government recently decided to conduct a scientific study on the sanctuary and redraw its boundaries to alleviate the fears of locals.
