INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
the flood-battered Kerala if it does not take environmental precautions
Like other states, Goa too, is witnessing a rise in profit-driven activities.Mr Gadgil headed a committee that published a widely debated
study on the Western Ghats a few years ago
"Certainly all sorts of problems are beginning to surface on the environmental front in the Western Ghats
Goa, of course, does not have Western Ghats which are so high as in Kerala, but I am sure Goa will also experience all sorts of problems,"
he said, reacting to the worst-ever floods in Kerala.He said the reason for not taking any environmental precaution was purely greed for
unlimited profits "You have seen it in Goa too
The Union government constituted Justice MB Shah Commission has estimated illegal profits of Rs 35,000 crore from illegal mining," he
said."The greed for enormous profits has been allowed to go on unchecked, which has actually worsened economic disparity in the society."So
now those who are making money through these means are even more effective in getting the government allows this kind of rampant illegal
behaviour," Mr Gadgil said.The ecologist said governments have been lax on implementing environmental norms."The central government is
actually bending over backwards to make sure the National Green Tribunal does not function properly," he said.Mr Gadgil had extensively
studied Goa's environment based on the data provided by iron ore mining companies and their Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports in
2011.He had then said the mining companies submitted false information in their EIA reports."In Goa, they had asked me to look into the
impact of mining on environment
Every EIA suppressed fact about hydrological impact of mining," the 73-year-old expert said."On 'sadas' (plains) of Goa there are a lot of
streams which are originating but they don't mention about them in their EIA reports
All kind of false statements are made in these reports," he said.Mr Gadgil had headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) set up
by the government.The WGEEP, in its 2011 report, had recommended that several areas in Kerala which come under the Western Ghats be
classified as ecologically sensitive.The panel had recommended strict curbs on mining and quarrying and on use of land for non-forest
