Buffer zone: Pinarayi govt's carelessness complicated the issue, CPM trying to put the blame on Rahul Gandhi, says Oommen Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and former Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Tuesday said that the carelessness shown by the Pinarayi government in the buffer zone issue made the issue complicated. The Congress leaders also alleged that the CPM was trying to hide the lapse on the part of the government by putting the blame on Rahul Gandhi.

"The CPM should apologize to Rahul Gandhi for the SFI attack on his office in connection with the buffer zone issue. During the term of the previous UDF government, at the cabinet meeting held on May 8, 2013, it was decided to send a proposal to the Centre to exempt populated areas from the Ecologically Sensitive Zone. Subsequently, on May 13, 2015, the proposal was submitted to the Union Ministry of Forests. In 2016, the expert committee asked for details regarding this, but the Pinarayi government did not provide it until 2018. Therefore, the draft notifications got cancelled. That is why the recommendation of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to maintain 10 km of Eco-Sensitive Zone became applicable to Kerala as well. The CPM is hiding this fact and trying to portray that Rahul Gandhi failed on the buffer zone issue," Oommen Chandy said.