Madhav Gadgil Committee report had recommended a ban on mining, construction and changing land use of forest land for non-forest purposes.
Around 500 people were killed and more than 10 lakh others were displaced in the catastrophic floods in 2018. (Wikimedia Commons)
Kerala, God’s own country, is fast losing this nomenclature. Buffeted by drought, deforestation, and indiscriminate concretisation, resulting in massive water logging, this once beautiful state is now reeling from one environmental disaster after another. How can a state with 44 rivers supported by backwaters and lakes face drought and intense heat? Development must urgently aim at achieving sustainability.