The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued a draft notification declaring an area of 70.906 sq km extending up to 2.72 km from the boundaries of the protected areas of Neyyar and Peppara wildlife sanctuaries as eco-sensitive zone.
The proposed zone, which will be spread across the villages of Kallikkadu, Amboori, Vazhichal, Mannoorkara and Vithura, will comprise places, including the Kallar bridge in the north; Kottamala, Karichatti Motta and Kalluparakkunnu in the northeast; Vattapparakunnu in the east; Kadirmudy, Chottupara, Kappukadu and Vlavetty in the south east; Karikkuzhy and Poochamukku in the south; Kandamthitta, Kottumamthodu and Kottoor in the south west; Mancode, Anchunazhikathodu causeway and Kuttappara thodu in the west; and Vithura-Peppara road and Makki, Kathippara and Aranamkuzhy in the northwest.
All new and existing mining, stone quarrying and crushing units will be prohibited in the region. Pollution-causing industries, major hydroelectric projects, solid waste disposal and processing facilities, large-scale commercial livestock and poultry farms, wood-based industries and brick kilns can no longer be established in the area. Explosives can no longer be manufactured or stored.
