Shed environmental fundamentalism: Minister K Babu

Thiruvananthapuram, July 3: Minister for excise and ports K Babu today said 'environmental fundamentalism' is a major hurdle faced by the state, especially in the energy sector.

Extreme environmentalism torpedoed many major development initiatives and the public should set aside that attitude for progress of the state, he said, inaugurating the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officers' conference here.

"We should respect and recognise the efforts of nature campaigners. But we should discard environmental fundamentalism. What we need is a synthesis of environmental activities and energy production," Babu said.

"The practice of opposing all kinds of development in terms of environmental conservation is wrong. The state is facing acute energy crunch and we cannot go forward depending upon hydel projects alone," he said.

Mass awareness on balanced consumption of electricity could make a change in the present scenario of power crunch, the minister added. Eminent poet and nature campaigner Sugatha Kumari, however, said no green activist is against small-scale power projects which do not exploit nature much.

"Environmental activists are now-a-days treated as defectors of the country. But those who oppose nature campaigns should be aware that everything in nature, whether it is rivers, forests or other natural products, is on the verge of extinction. We should keep at least the rest for the coming generations," she said.

She also said atomic energy was 'disastrous' and not a suitable solution for energy crunch.

PTI