Plantation workers in Kerala’s Gavi stare at an uncertain future

KOCHI: Around 168 labourers at the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) plantation in Gavi, in Pathanamthitta district, are staring at an uncertain future as the lease period of the plantation is set to expire in seven months. To make matters worse, the proposal for the rehabilitation of workers is yet to get government approval.

Even if the government extends the lease period, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is unlikely to accord sanction to continue with cardamom cultivation in Gavi as it is a reserve forest contiguous to the core of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The tiger sub plan approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority has stipulated that Gavi should be freed of human habitation to enable the conservation of wildlife ecology. The workers and trade unions in Gavi have been urging KFDC to provide a package for rehabilitation as they are unable to sustain their lives in hostile surroundings. KFDC will not be able to cultivate cardamom after the expiry of the lease agreement as the central law does not allow cultivation of cash crops in reserve forests.

“During my term as the managing director of KFDC, I had moved a proposal for rehabilitation of workers. The Centre has already said that it will consider allocating fund for rehabilitation of workers under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). The workers are ready to go but the state government has not accepted the proposal,” said former principal chief conservator of forest Prakriti Srivastava.

The condition of the labourers is pathetic. They are living in dilapidated labour lanes and there is no hygiene. I had also proposed skill-based training for the family members of the labourers which would have helped them to improve income and sustain their lives,” she added.