“We make children study the need to conserve biodiversity and ecology, but we would destroy whatever is left,” says an anguished Meena Menon, who has been waging a battle for six years to conserve 200-year-old sacred groves, the habitat of a variety of unique flora and fauna.

Called Santhivanam, this green campus of sacred groves is facing an imminent threat from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), which plans to cut down several trees to run its proposed 110 KV electricity supply line through this mini forest.

Located at Vazhikulangara, north Paravur taluk in Ernakulam, Santhivanam was initially under the care of Meena’s father, C Raveendranath, until his passing. Raveendranath used only a portion of the two-acre land to build a house while conserving rest of the land as an ecologically relevant region.

Santhivanam consists of three big sacred groves, three big ponds and temple, which is traditionally run by the family. It is a veritable and unique habitat that requires a strong conservation strategy as this is one of the remnants of the lowland coastal evergreen ecosystem in the state.

Santhivanam 

It has been home to scores of medicinal plants as well as to a variety of animals, birds and reptiles species.

The avian diversity of the area is varied as explained by the studies or surveys undertaken by ornithologists and birdwatchers. A few of the rare birds have also been documented at Santhivanam: Rufous Woodpecker, Eurasian Hoopoe, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Scaly-breasted Munia, Indian Pitta, Orange-headed Thrush.

Birds at Santhivanam 

How the trouble began

Meena’s fight to defend the sacred groves began in 2013 when the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) proposed a 110 KV electricity supply line called the  Cherai-Mannam line, which would pass through Santhivanam. Though Meena fought against this, the KSEB managed to get an order in their favour. This left Meena in the lurch and the KSEB, on their part, swiftly began cutting the trees on the campus.

“The project was conceived in a way that the line would not pass through Santhivanam. Later, however, there was a change in the alignment, which would make the line pass through Santhivanam,” says Meena.

Meena alleges that the owners of the land adjacent to Santhivanam intervened as they did not want the line to pass through their land. And among the owners in the adjacent land is the son of former KSEB chairman.

When she approached Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in 2013 to change the alignment, KSEB said the proposed line would pass through the edge of the land and not through it. But when finally the order came in April 2016, the proposed line was in fact through Santhivanam. “This forced us to file a writ petition at the High Court. We have also filed petitions before the Chief Minister and State Haritha Kerala Mission but have not received any response yet,” she says.

However, on March 14 this year, the KSEB started the work to lay the line and started felling the trees on the campus.

“Though we have moved the High Court, the KSEB has submitted fake documents in their favour before the court. The judgment was passed the day before the commencement of the summer vacation, even before I could figure out the reason my petition was rejected and before I could respond. On April 6, the KSEB workers came with police protection and begun piling,” alleges Meena.

KSEB, on the other hand, has called these allegations baseless. Speaking to TNM, Deputy Chief Engineer George, who is in charge of the Cherai-Mannam line project, says that the project was conceived 20 years ago to address the acute power shortage in the area.

“We have cut only one tree in the area and have no plan to cut all of them,” he says. “The ADM heard Meena’s petition well before the alignment was finalised. The alignment was finalised after considering the technical aspect as well. Besides, there was a detailed hearing in court. If they had objected then, they could have gone to the vacation court with an appeal,” he says.

Environmentalists voice support

Meena has found growing support from environmentalists. A group of environmentalists in Kochi had gathered at Santhivanam on April 22 to protest KSEB’s move. A larger gathering has been planned on Saturday.

Usha Soolapani, an environmentalist who is part the Thiruvananthapuram-based NGO Thanal, says, “Meena has been conserving Santhavanam and growing a forest for animals and birds, that too, on a coastal area. While the Forest Department has kept salaried people for conserving the forest, Meena is doing this service for free. The society should honour her for providing a home to species that would have otherwise gone extinct.”

“We are not against development; but if the development is at the expense of ecological degradation, what will be left,” asks Meena. “The line can pass through the edge of Santhivanam. It is not that this will not cause any destruction but it will not cause as much damage as when it would pass through the grooves. Also, the plot near Santhivanam is a barren land, sans any trees. Lines passing through this area will not cause any major destruction. We have been raising the issue for years and no one is listening to our pleas, not even political parties,” she tells TNM.