Demarcation of ESZ: MPs told to exert pressure on Centre

A meeting of MPs from Kerala chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday decided to push the Centre to expedite steps for an early verdict by the Supreme Court on the demarcation of Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) and consider legislation to exclude human settlements and farmlands from the regulated zones. The meeting resolved to exert pressure on the Centre to include 109 densely-populated panchayats in the CRZ-2 category.

It also decided that the MPs from the State would meet the Union Railway Minister to push for the Nemom coaching terminal. They would also press for designating the Kannur international airport as a point of call for foreign companies to operate services and bring the benefits of the open-sky policy, especially from the ASEAN countries. The Chief Minister urged the MPs to get funds allocated from the Centre for steps to reduce human-animal conflicts. He also appealed to them to exert pressure on the Centre to desist from making Hindi a compulsory medium of instruction in educational institutions.