File photo: Defence Minister A K Antony
Sharing concern of farmers, Defence Minister A K Antony today said common man would not be made to suffer while implementing the Western Ghats conservation measures recommended by the K Kasturirangan committee.
Mr Antony made the assurance to representatives of the "Jana Rakshana Samiti" from Thamarassery in Kozhikode who called on him to voice their apprehensions over the issue.
Samiti leaders told reporters that Mr Antony had assured them that common man would be spared of hardships while implementing measures proposed by the panel for conservation of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hot spot facing serious environmental degradation.
Congress MP from Wayanad, M I Shanawas, was also present during the meeting.
The Centre's move to implement the panel report had in recent months sparked strong protests in upland areas of Kerala, where hundreds small and medium farmers hold lands on the slopes of the mountain range.