5 days ago
Youth Cong march to Jayachandran's house pure hooliganism: Greens
Kochi: Several environmental activists in state came out in support of M N Jayachandran, Idukki district secretary of Society for Protection of Cruelty Against Animals (SPCA), who faced attacks and protests from Youth Congress workers for filing a case against large-scale tree cutting and illegal constructions under the guise of NH construction activity.
The activists said that approaching the judiciary was a right of every citizen. "Jayachandran approached the high court not out of anyone's instigation or for personal gain. Govt clarified in a court affidavit that the construction site is a reserved forest. The HC intervened because the construction was proceeding without the necessary final approvals under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The court has asked the chief secretary to investigate and report on the unauthorized construction activities," they said in a statement.
"The march by Youth Congress activists to Jayachandran's house, locking his wife and elderly mother inside, is not only illegal but, to put it mildly, pure hooliganism. Environmental protection is a constitutional civic duty. Questioning projects that violate environmental laws is not anti-people but a citizen's responsibility and a service to the nation and its people. Defamatory campaigns against someone filing a petition in the public interest to uphold the law are an affront to democracy and the rule of law," the statement said.
"No one is against development. However, it requires legal approvals, environmental impact assessments, expert evaluations at various levels, public dialogue and completion of legal procedures. If responsible parties fail to do so, protecting the environment through the court and questioning illegal activities is a noble example of democracy," the activists said.
"We believe that defamatory campaigns and personal attacks against Jayachandran following high court's verdict will be dismissed by the public. Those spreading rumours that Jayachandran is a proxy for forest department are either proxies themselves or their masters," they said. The signatories include Thomas Ambalavayal, Veena Marathur, T V Rajan, Adv TS Santhosh, Varghese Vattakattu, R Mohanan, K A Sulaiman, Sasheendra Babu, N Badusha, and Rashmi Stalin.
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