Thiruvananthapuram: In the context of natural calamities, the Kerala state government is going to study how to expand agriculture while protecting the Western Ghats in Kerala. The study is going to be conducted by the Department of Agriculture, and a high-level meeting will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday in this regard under the leadership of Minister P Prasad. The first step is to seek the opinion of experts across the globe, and later, it will be discussed with the people related to agriculture, both inside and outside Kerala, and the local community. The minister told 'Madhyamyam' that he would take steps aligning with the scientific research. The minister said that Western Ghats won't be left for exploitation.
The minister continued that if conservation is not possible, human life will quickly collapse. For this, the Department of Agriculture is targeting comprehensive schemes. There has been a demand for inclusive protection for the people of the Western Ghats region. Therefore, the minister has decided to include proposals to strengthen agricultural livelihoods there as well.
According to him, extensive encroachment, mining, and deforestation have decimated the entire region. The National Forest Policy mandates that 60 per cent of mountain areas should be forested. However, he said that the Western Ghats currently have less than 40 per cent forest cover.