Idukki became an epicentre of protests after Gadgil report

In 2013, the hill district of Idukki witnessed a spate of protests following the release of the Madhav Gadgil report for protecting the Western Ghats.

Protests erupted after the Gadgil committee recommended that 37% of the Western Ghats be declared eco-sensitive. Of the 123 villages identified as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs), 48 were located in Idukki district. Residents were apprehensive that these recommendations would lead to forced evictions and conversion of farmland into protected forests.

Slogans of animals being released to habitations and houses to be painted green and ban on farming and constructions were raised on the streets.

The protests were spearheaded by the High Range Samrakshana Samiti (HRSS), a people’s movement under the Idukki diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church. The late Mar Mathew Anikkuzhikattil, the then Bishop of Idukki, criticised the report and led the agitation alongside HRSS general convener Fr. Sebastian Kochupurakal and legal adviser Joyce George.

But there were some differing voices too. The late P.T. Thomas, the then MP of Idukki, faced intense backlash from the Church for supporting the report, maintaining that it contained no anti-farmer measures. His stance eventually led the Congress leadership to deny him a ticket for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Left Democratic Front-backed Independent Joyce George won the seat by defeating United Democratic Front candidate Dean Kuriakose by a margin of over 50,000 votes.

However, 13 years on, the dire predictions that fuelled the protests have not materialised. No residents have been evicted, and no farmlands have been seized by the Forest department.

The political tide has also shifted. Under the leadership of Bishop Mar John Nellikkunnel, the Idukki diocese adopted a neutral stance, distancing priests from active politics. Deprived of the Church’s active backing, Mr. George lost the 2019 and 2024 parliamentary elections. Today, the HRSS has largely lost its influence among the district’s farmers.

Environmentalists point to the devastating landslides and floods of 2018 as proof that the Gadgil report’s warnings were ignored at a greater cost.

“The present condition of Idukki shows that Gadgil and his recommendations were right,” says environmentalist M.N. Jayachandran. “The protests led by the former Bishop were unnecessary and disrupted normal life for years. Despite the fear-mongering, no one was evicted. The Gadgil recommendations were clearly designed to ensure the long-term protection of this hill district,” he says.