Akka Foundation to March to Bengaluru Seeking Kasturirangan Report Rollout

The Akka Foundation Trust, an advocacy group, will set out from Hubballi on a 'Chalo Bengaluru' programme to press for implementation of the K. Kasturirangan Committee report on the protection of the Western Ghats, alongside a broader set of environmental demands.

Members will travel to Bengaluru to take part in an environmental satyagraha at Freedom Park on Monday, under the leadership of environmentalist Avinash. During the programme, they will gather signatures backing the implementation of the Kasturirangan report and later submit a memorandum to the government.

In a release, office bearers of the organisation urged the government to declare a climate emergency and adopt measures to tackle climate change. They also sought strict enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics, steps to keep such plastics out of easy reach in the market, and official encouragement for cloth bags as an alternative.

The group acknowledged concerns among residents of the Malnad region about the Kasturirangan report, noting that farmers there have been protesting against it. It pointed to the difficulties agricultural communities face because of climate change, including diseases affecting arecanut, coffee and pepper crops.

It further flagged the situation of farmers who live on and cultivate land without proper title deeds owing to forest-related laws. The absence of ownership documents, the organisation said, blocks their access to government benefits and bank loans. It asked the government to amend these laws to resolve the land-title problem and give people in the region greater certainty.

According to the organisation, the 'Chalo Bengaluru' programme is intended to advance both environmental protection and the concerns of communities whose livelihoods depend on the Western Ghats.

Among its demands is strict implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility system, under which manufacturers of chips, biscuits and other packaged food products would be held responsible for collecting and recycling the plastic waste their products generate.

A major demand is the withdrawal of projects the group says could harm the Western Ghats. These include the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project, the Bedti-Varada river-linking project, the Aghanashini-Vedavathi river-linking proposal and land acquisition for the Hubballi-Ankola railway project. The organisation has called for the withdrawal of around 38 projects in the Western Ghats.