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By N P Chekkutty
Micro-level studies conducted by KSSP reveal that since 1987 over 50% of hill in panchayats and municipal towns surveyed in Kerala have been excavated by the construction industry. This has serious consequences for agricultural and drinking water supply
Small and medium-sized hillocks are common in the midlands of Kerala. They are a beautiful sight, giving the landscape a gently undulating shape, covered with lush vegetation. Ecologically, they are critical to the region as, besides offering cattle rich grazing opportunities, they are important repositories of natural water keeping millions of wells alive and providing drinking water to countless people.
Sadly, Kerala’s hillocks are undergoing a transformation. Growing commercialisation of land, expanding urbanisation and the consequent booming construction industry have taken their toll. Recent studies highlighting the threat posed by intensive excavation activity in various parts of Kerala in the last 10-15 years note that a substantial proportion of the state’s hilly landscape has been destroyed and carted away to fill low-lying lands for construction. Recent micro-level studies conducted by the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), a people’s science movement that has a wide network in the state, reveal that since 1987 over 50% of hillocks in panchayats and municipal towns included in a survey have been subjected to excavation and earth removal activities; among them 10-15% suffered extreme loss, if not complete destruction.
The destruction of hillocks could have serious and longstanding repercussions on drinking water availability in the state, says Dr A Achuthan, eminent hydrologist and conservationist and one of the pioneers of Sastra Sahitya Parishad. According to him, the most important ecological problem the people of Kerala are likely to face in the next decade is scarcity of drinking water as the state’s traditional water sources are being depleted and no new sources identified. He points out that already, water scarcity in local wells is being acutely felt in many parts of the state, and that gram panchayats, corporations and municipal authorities are hard-pressed to supply water in tankers to these places.
The destruction of hillocks and the filling up of low-lying lands, paddy fields and waterbodies is interconnected. Recognition of this by the authorities led to the adoption of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Fields and Wetlands Bill, 2007 passed by the state assembly in July 2008. This Bill seeks to protect Kerala’s remaining paddy fields for cultivation of rice and other food products, as, according to the State Planning Board, in the period 1980 to 2007, the state lost as much as 500,000 hectares of wetland and paddy fields to construction and other commercial activities, including the conversion of lands for cultivation of cash crops like rubber.
Much of the low-lying lands and waterbodies are filled up with earth excavated from hillocks using JCBs, the ubiquitous excavator that can be seen in every village in Kerala today. Village roads teem with earth-moving vehicles that cause frequent road accidents because of their reckless speed. In one recent accident in Malappuram, an excavator itself was crushed under falling earth; two people were killed.
The seriousness of the situation has not yet been formally assessed by any official agency, although the non-governmental sector has carried out studies to highlight the risks. The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad survey, conducted during May-June 2006, focused on changing land use patterns and the impact of the changes on the environment and people’s lives. It selected several panchayats and municipal towns from across the state. Although preliminary in nature, the survey’s findings highlight the growing tendency to fill up waterbodies and demolish hillocks that are known to store water, say activists involved in the study.
C M Muralidharan, secretary of the KSSP during the period of the survey, explained that it was conducted mainly with a view to identifying land use patterns in Kerala in order to finalise a campaign strategy on the issue. He stated that after the preliminary results had been compiled, the organisation would carry out a multi-disciplinary study involving government agencies like the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kerala Land-Use Board, etc, to scientifically assess how the changing patterns were going to impact society in the long term. However, no such comprehensive study was undertaken even though the past few years have seen an intensification of the destruction process.
The KSSP survey was conducted in eight of the state’s 14 districts. The district-wise data shows that, compared to the southern parts of Kerala, the north has witnessed a heavier assault on its land despite the rate of commercialisation and industrialisation being much faster in the south. In fact, the two districts that witnessed the most destruction were Kannur and Malappuram, both in the north. In Kannur, the survey examined 33 gram panchayats and two municipal areas that had as many as 196 paddy fields and 163 hillocks. Of these paddy fields, 146 -- a whopping 81.6% -- had already been filled up either to plant cash crops, for commercial activities, or to build houses, etc. The study included areas with a minimum height of 10 metres and a base of 1,390 hectares under the category of hillock. Of 163 such hillocks identified in the study, as much as 57.67% (94) had been affected by various levels of excavation. According to the study, 68 hillocks had lost as much as 25% of their total area, while another 12 suffered a 25-50% loss; 14 had lost over 50%.
P V Divakaran, a KSSP activist involved in the study, said that they had come across 73 hillocks that had not suffered any damage, in areas under the survey. Since then, however, some have faced threats. Divakaran explained that the eastern hill regions had experienced severe ecological damage through excavation, as proved by the fact that traditionally water-rich areas like Iritty today face water shortages. Another development causing concern in the region is frequent land slips that destroy property and endanger lives. Instability in the hills because of uncontrolled excavation has contributed to these land slips, say local people. All six hillocks in the small village of Thillankkeri have been demolished, giving the once-verdant village a barren look.
Dr Achuthan, who has done extensive studies on soil and water conservation patterns in Kerala, says the loss of hillocks in the north could prove to be a setback for water security in the region as the laterite-rich hillocks are vital for water storage. In fact, rivers are few and far between in this region; even when they are full, after the rains, they take less than 48 hours to empty most of their water into the sea. In Kasargode and parts of Kannur, surangam is a traditional way of sourcing water -- collecting water that drips inside rock and other laterite formations.
Compared to the north where the survey found 58% of hillocks destroyed, the loss in the south was less, at around 34%, says K M Elias, convener of the KSSP’s environment sub-committee. One-hundred-and-forty-seven hills were surveyed in Ernakulam district -- one of the state’s most industrialised regions. It was found that around 50 hills had been subjected to excavation, suffering moderate to heavy loss. Of them, 35 had suffered a loss of up to 25%; four were in the region of 25-50%; and 11 had been badly damaged. However, as many as 97 had not yet been touched by the excavation industry.
But the situation is likely to have changed since then, as new development projects in the area, like the Vallarpadom container terminal, the Smart City project, etc, were on full swing. In fact, as Dr Achuthan points out, recent data released by the Worldwatch Institute shows that while the construction industry grows at 5% globally, and at 9% in India, in Kerala it grows at 15%.
One of the interesting facts borne out by the survey is the greater level of destruction of natural resources in north Kerala. The reasons appear to be the comparative lack of public resistance and environment activism in the north, and higher levels of poverty in the villages as most landowners have no option but to lease out their land for construction purposes thanks to poor farm earnings. In fact, there have been more farmer suicides reported from the northern districts of Kerala in recent years than the southern parts.
The government’s move to prevent the conversion of paddy fields by introducing a Bill that promises strict punitive action, including a jail term and hefty fine, has been welcomed by a section of environmentalists. But many feel it will only aggravate the problems faced by distressed farmers and landowners. As the statistics on damage to hillocks seem to suggest, the real issue behind this ecological disaster is not a lack of concern for the environment but the pressing problems of poverty and destitution.
(N P Chekkutty is a journalist based in Kerala)
InfoChange News & Features, October 2008
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