'Kerala govt complicit in violation of green laws in Munnar'

Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar today accused the CPM-led Kerala government of being "complicit" in violations of environmental laws in the popular hill station of Munnar and urged the Centre to depute a team to probe the issue.
"The Kerala government is actively complicit in blatant violations of environmental laws with other encroachers in Munnar which is part of ecologically sensitive Western Ghats," Chandrasekhar told reporters here.
"We want the Centre to depute a team under its supervision to probe the issue," he added.
An independent committee of environmentalists and social activists set up by the BJP in Kerala had yesterday warned of serious consequences if encroachments were not stopped in the ecologically sensitive Munnar in Idukki district.

Despite the Supreme Court and NGT orders, the state continues to preside over blatant violations, said Chandrasekhar who had raised the issue in the upper house on April 6.
"It is a widely known fact that there are over 400 illegal resorts in Munnar which are enjoying political support," he said.

Commenting on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's reaction to pulling down of a 30-feet tall metal cross as part of an official anti-encroachment drive in Munnar, Chandrasekhar said the CM was intimidating the officials.
"Bureaucrats who tried to enforce the law in the hill station were subjected to intimidation by the Chief Minister," he said.

A delegation led by Kerala BJP President Kummanam Rajasekharan today met Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave and submitted a memorandum on the issue.