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The Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently announced that the creation of Special Tourism Zones (STZ) would be considered if private parties having large tracts of land approach the State Government. He also declared that government would change the rules relating to acquisition of land for tourism projects in the State.The government’s plan to announce STZs in Kerala has to be challenged because it will augment the pressure over the natural and other resources such as land, water, forests and will lead to environmental destruction, revenue losses and lack of real economic development of the state, breakdown of governance systems especially of the Panchayats with the creation of enclaves and lack of equal and non-exploitative employment opportunities for local communities in STZs.

The Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently announced that the creation of Special Tourism Zones (STZ) would be considered if private parties having large tracts of land approach the State Government. He also declared that government would change the rules relating to acquisition of land for tourism projects in the State.

The government’s plan to announce STZs in Kerala has to be challenged because it will augment the pressure over the natural and other resources such as land, water, forests and will lead to environmental destruction, revenue losses and lack of real economic development of the state, breakdown of governance systems especially of the Panchayats with the creation of enclaves and lack of equal and non-exploitative employment opportunities for local communities in STZs.Now Kerala Tourism seems to be using “Responsible Tourism“ for it’s marketing, especially in the UK market. The recent workshop organised by Kerala Tourism mainly dealt with the responsibility of various stakeholders in further development of tourism within the state. But at the same time, they became mute on issues such as the constitutional rights of the Panchayat Raj Institutions, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations by hotels and resorts, backwater pollution by the houseboats and tourism industry and various social issues.

Who is responsible for these damages? And for effectively addressing these problems? The need of the hour is the proactive involvement of the civil society against these malpractices. We request you to support our call for a larger debate on the true nature of tourism development in the state, on its questionable economic contributions and its negative impacts upon vulnerable communities and Kerala’s fragile environment. If you can agree with the points we raised in our letter to the Chief Minister (attached), please get back to us by 26th Feb. (Please E-mail your endorsement to forumkerala@movingrepublic.org) and by signing the letter, support it as it is. Or if you do not agree with all the points or want to raise additional points of your own, additional initiatives supporting the cause are also welcome.

In solidarity


Forum KERALA


For more details please contact:

Forum KERALA, C/o TC 354,Muttada.P.O, Thiruvananthapuram 25, Kerala. Phone Numbers: Ajayan – 9895007171, Anivar Aravind – 9446545336, Santhosh Kumar K.C. – 9447375708, Sumesh Mangalassery - 9388402948


About Forum KERALA


The Forum KERALA, a platform of civil society movements, people’s groups and individuals who are sharing a common vision and mission related to Kerala Society – its developmental, environmental, social-cultural and political issues – at various levels. The Forum will take up research, campaign and mobilisation. We hope this will facilitate a creative space for the civil society groups and concerned individuals to come together and working for a better future.