66 million years. That is how old the Western Ghats are. 170 years. That is how many years since the Western Ghats started degrading. 46. That is how many landslides, the Western Ghats regions in Karnataka, saw since June 2024.
The Western Ghats, one of the most biodiverse regions on the Earth, is suffocating under the weight of reckless human intervention. Traversing through six Indian states (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat), the destruction of the Western Ghats has resulted in serious disasters in almost all the states, especially in Karnataka and Kerala as we saw in the past couple months. These are not natural, but a direct consequence of the current ‘development’ model. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage, it is a biodiversity hotspot, with flora and fauna that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Yet, this natural treasure is under severe assault of capitalist exploiters facilitated by the government.
The Western Ghats have become a playground for power-plants, mining, and other large-scale industrial projects. Take the case of the recently proposed controversial Sharavathy pumped-storage project. It plans to take over hundreds of acres of forest land, crucial for the survival of endangered and endemic species. The project requires about 378 acres, in that 126 acres is forest land, out of which 97 acres is part of the lion-tailed macaque sanctuary. Tunnels running to 4 km will be built using “drill and blast method”, employing explosives. More than 13,000 trees belonging to unique species will be cut down. This is just one of the many cases where the construction of similar projects have resulted in the loss of forest cover, worsening the situation of endangered and endemic species, resulting in disasters like flooding, soil erosion, landslides, and increased human-wildlife conflicts.
The horrors that played out during the
Wayanad floods this year is yet another instance of the people paying the price for the uncontrolled activities for profiteering in the Western Ghats. Hundreds lost their lives and were injured in this deadly landslide. Thousands were displaced. Mundakkai, one of the villages that was severely hit by the landslides was identified as an ecologically sensitive area (i.e. there should be strict controls on activities that would worsen the region’s ecology); but, the Kerala government made amendments to the recommendations and set up mining quarries there, as well as in other similar locations. In Karnataka, the Upper Bhadra project, a large-scale irrigation and hydroelectric project, has been identified as the sole reason for the intense human-wildlife conflict in the region. Large areas of forest lands, including vital elephant corridors, were submerged, displacing the wildlife, forcing them to roam into human settlements for food and water. This results in crop-raiding, injuries, and fatalities on both sides. This project also altered the natural flow of water bodies, resulting in lack of water availability for humans and the wildlife. Monocrop plantations, sand and granite mining, luxury resorts, etc., are other factors of destruction in the Western Ghats.
While the environment is violated so seriously, local communities are affected just the same. Indigenous populations are being forcibly displaced to acquire the forest and rural lands. They are never included in the decision-making process. Their voices fall on the deaf ears of private players and the government that is tailing loyally behind the multinational corporations. Policies favour private corporations, granting them access to land resources, permission to use explosives without regulations, etc. These actions are justified with the promises of job creation, but these claims never take shape. Most industries set up in the Western Ghats employ a very small fraction of the local or displaced population, often in much worse working conditions, leaving many without livelihoods or homes. Militarisation has added to the burden the people face. Local communities actively oppose and protest against these actions that benefit the interests of the corporations. They are met with heavy repression by the police and army- including encounter killings, unjust arrests, and forced land grabs. We see this happening not just in the Western Ghats, but also in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar islands, etc.
Efforts to protect the Western Ghats are not new. The Gadgil Report, released in 2011, provided a comprehensive plan for sustainable development and the demarcation and protection of Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs). Later, the Kasturirangan Committee submitted much more diluted recommendations. Both reports have been dismissed by the Karnataka government. The insights provided by them have been ignored to favour this exploitative development model.
The crisis in Western Ghats is not isolated. We can see the connection between the climate crisis and the strong hand played by capitalist exploitation in different parts of our country and across the world. The people have been suffering the loot of their Jal-Jangal-Jameen by the ruling classes. The Indian state is loyally executing the corporate looters’ needs. If it is only development for a few, then we must forcefully oppose this idea that is being forced down the peoples’ throats. Climate crisis can be resolved only with the end of capitalist exploitation. The people must rise to demand an end to forced displacement, loot of natural resources, and reckless management of the environment.
Down with corporatisation and militarisation!
Save Nature and Natural resources!
