K. Sasidharan Nair, K. Balachandran Thampi & N. V. Trivedi Baburonmentally sound and sustainable. It was at this juncture, during the 1970s, that Silent Valley - an unknown tiny tract of pristine wilderness in a remote corner of the world - sprang into the lime light as an eloquent harbinger of peoples' campaign for ecological and social justice. This was consequent to the proposal to construct a dam in the valley which generated a lot of controversy and debate during the seventies and early eighties. The 'Save Silent Valley' campaigners consisting of scientists, NGOs, media-men, environmentalists, national and international organizations and people at large, projected the geological, geophysical, cultural and biological uniqueness of the Valley. They also projected the forests therein as virgin and pristine, undistributed by any kind of anthropogenic interventions, harbouring -a large number of rare, endangered and endemic flora and fauna. The proponents of the hydroelectric project had argued that there was nothing special about Silent Valley. Based on the then available techno-economic evaluation, the Government of India and the Government of Kerala had given approval for the hydroelectric project and the Kerala State Electricity Board had gone ahead with the preliminary work. This inflamed the righteous resentment and indignation of the campaigners including the international community. Their relentless efforts resulted in the appointment of a multidisciplinary team of scientists by the Central and State Governments to evaluate the project with due importance to its ecological and environmental impact. Persuaded by the scientific findings and the will of the people, the Government abandoned the project and declared Silent Valley a National Park on 15th November 1984. An overview of the unique features of the valley and the history of its management would be helpful in understanding the issues rationally.PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURESSilent Valley is roughly a rectangular tableland extending over 8952 hectares at the south western corner of the Nilgiris (Lat. 11 0 00' & 110 15' N and Long. 760 15' & 35 E). It is closed on all sides with high and continuous ridges along the entire north, northeast and east with steep escarpments along the western and southern border. The whole valley is thus shielded from the extremes of climate as well as anthropogenic intervention and so it remained an ecological island with a special microclimate. Along its entire length, the plateau slopes towards Kunthipuzha which originates at an altitude of about 2400 metre in the outer rim of the Nilgiris, descends rapidly to 1150 metre at the northern edge of the plateau and flows thereafter in the north-south direction
Silent Valley National Park - A Historical Perspective 81through the Valley. Right from the northern-most point at Valiawalakkad where the main course of Kunthipuzha is formed by the confluence of three tributaries till it descends through a deep gorge on the southern edge of the plateau, there is no marked altitudinal gradient anywhere. The river bed level varies from 1861 metre at the highest point to 900 metre near the gorge, over a distance of 12 kilometre, out of which the last eight kilometre are particularly level with a fall only of about 60 metre. Excepting one, all the major tributaries of Kunthipuzha originate from the high eastern slopes and after flowing down the steep ridges, pass through a gentle stretch of about one kilometre before joining the main stream with the result that most of the heavier suspended materials get deposited before they reach the main stream. The main stream is uniformly shallow without any flood plains and with climax evergreen vegetation extending right upto the water course indicating the absence of destructive water level fluctuations during the heavy monsoon months. The highest peaks, Anginda (2383 m), Sispara (2206 m ) and Kozhippara (1904 m) are on the northern boundary of the Valley. Both south-west and north-east monsoons are available to the Valley, maximum precipitation being during the south-west monsoons. Average rain fall is 3180 millimetre and the highest rain fall is recorded during the mpnth of July (885.8 mm ). January, February and March are comparatively drier months. The highest temperature is experienced during May (30 0 C) and the lowest during January (7 0 C).BIOTIC FEATURESThe forests of Silent Valley consist mainly of tropical evergreen, grasslands and shola vegetation, with tremendous complexity as well as floral and faunal diversity. They harbour a large number of rare, endangered and endemic species of flora and fauna. Several new species of flora and fauna including amphibians, fish, insects, lichens, mosses,. ferns and flowering plants have been described from the Valley.Silent Valley forests, locally known as Sairandhrivanam, are linked to the mythological character Draupadi (synonymously known as Sairandhri) in Mahabharata. Also the river Kunthi named after Kunthi Devi of Mahabharata, runs through Silent Valley in north-south direction. It is popularly believed that Pandavas lived here with their consort Draupadi. In due course of time, Sairdndhrivanam might have got transformed resulting in the present name of 'Silent Valley.' It is also believed that Silent Valley has been given the name due to the absence of Cicada insects which usually produce a distinctive sound in a tropical forest environment
K. Sasidharan Nair, K. Balachandran Thampi & N. V. Trivedi BabuIt is however found that Cicadas have started to occur in the area in recent years.The whole of Silent Valley forests were practically undisturbed till the middle of the 19th century with no history of anthropogenic degradation. There has been no human presence in recorded history. Because of the topographic isolation of the plateau, cut off on all sides by steep ridges and escarpments, there is little permeating influence from surrounding areas into these forests. These forests remained as 'ecological islands' preserving the relic character of the fauna and flora of the region. The evolutionary age of Silent Valley is believed to be more than 50 million years.COFFEE CULTIVATIONThe title of the Government to the whole of Silent Valley - (the watershed of Kunthipuzha) - was investigated as early as in 1847 and it was found that there were no private rights whatsoever and that the whole watershed was the absolute property at the disposal of the Government. Between 1847 and 1873, 400 hectare in the middle of Silent Valley was given on grant to the coffee planters. After a futile attempt to cultivate coffee, the planters abandoned the area in 1889. The Government took over these lands known as 'Walghat estate,' for arrears of government revenue. In 1888, the whole area was constituted into 'land at the disposal of Government' under section 26 of the Madras Forest Act. After this, the vegetation in this area was totally under the mercy of fire which rendered the area into a grassland with the presence of fire-hardy species like Wendlandia notoniana here and there. In certain portions annual fires resulted in the shrinking of shola forests. In fire burnt areas secondary succession is in progress.RESERVE NOTIFICATIONThe Silent Valley forests with an area of 89.52 km2 were notified as Reserve Forests in 1914 as per notification number 291 dated 18th May 1914 and published in St. George Gazette dated 9th June 1914. During the course of reservation, a portion of land lying west of Kunthipuzha in survey number 235 of Kandamangalam and survey number 51 of Payyanadam des oms (village) of Walluvanad Taluk aggregating 785.75 acres was acquired.Till 1921, Silent Valley was part of South Malabar Forest Division with headquarters at Nilambur. During 1921, it came under the administrative control of Pal ghat Forest Division.
Silent Valley National Park - A Historical Perspective 83SELECTION FELLING
The earliest attempts for timber extraction in Silent Valley date back to 1901. In 1901-'02, only Dysoxylum malabaricum was extracted under selection system and sold on stump fee basis. Cerambi type rest houses were constructed at Nilakkal, Walakkad, Poochappara and Poomala for effective management of the forests.A scheme for working the forest in Silent Valley under selection felling system was sanctioned by the Government in 1928 to extract only merchantable species like Mesua ferrea, Palaquium ellipticum, Hopea parviflora, Acrocarpus fraxinifolius etc., mainly for railway sleepers. Exploitable girth for Mesua was seven feet and for other species six feet. During 1929-31, in the gaps created by fellings, regeneration was attempted by loosening soil and dibbling seeds from April to July. In 1931, tending of natural seedlings of valuable trees such as Mesua, Hopea, Calophyllum was started. As per the evaluation made by the subsequent Working Plan Officers, these attempts at regeneration met with only partial success.The Working plan by T.Y. Venkiteswara Iyer brought these forests under regular Working Plan in 1933-34. His plan prescribed selection felling in Silent Valley felling series (7508 ha.) with 15 years felling cycle with the objective of exploiting the merchantable timber in a manner which will not endanger the evergreen character and treating the forests to improve the proportion of valuable species. Felling of a maximum of three trees per acre was prescribed. For want of suitable extraction routes, some of the coupes in the Silent Valley series were not worked and a few others were worked out of turn. In addition, on account of a slump in the timber market, the demand for species other than Mesua fell considerably and even for Mesua the annual outturn in sleepers was below the estimated possibility. Gap regeneration and tending of existing regeneration were prescribed and practised. Tending operations were carried out in coupe VI (650 acres) in 1938-39, Coupe VII (67 acres) in 1939-40, Coupe XIII (77 acres) in 1940-41, Coupe XIII (125 acres) in 1941-42. Gap regeneration was given up in 1937 after the results were found to be unsatisfactory.The Working Plan by Van Haeftan (1943-58) also prescribed selection felling in Silent Valley with a felling cycle of 15 years. He prescribed that the maximum number of Mesua trees that can be felled from the coupe as 675 trees. A maximum of 11 trees per acre was prescribed in the case of non-sleeper species. Artificial regeneration was not prescribed but a more concentrated form of tending was recommended.
K. Sasidharan Nair, K. Balachandran Thampi & N. V. Trivedi BabuE. Muhammed in his plan (1959-74) prescribed 'careful selection felling' of such species that could be profitably removed without excessive opening of canopy followed by tending of natural regeneration of valuable species. He prescribed selection felling in an area of 5391 hectare in Silent Valley with a felling cycle of 30 years. Felling of a maximum of three trees per acre was prescribed. Tending operations included freeing the young seedlings from weeds and climbers, removal of inferior species- interfering with regeneration, thinning of pole crop etc.S. Chand Basha in his plan (1975-85) prescribed selection felling in 4670 hectare of Silent Valley reserve with a felling cycle of 30 years. Removal of seven trees of marketable species and three trees of nonmarketable species per hectare was prescribed. Felling was to be followed by tending of regeneration.Thus over these decades, a total of 48,000 cubic metre of timber is estimated to have been extracted from the selection fellings in Silent Valley, mainly from its southern half. Eventhough a minimum girth of six feet to seven feet was prescribed for selection felling, in practice trees of much bigger girth must have been available for extraction as the selection felling was carried out for the first time in virgin forest. Based on N.R. Nair's Commercial Volume Table which estimated the yields of timber for various species for various girth classes and size of trees now available it is reasonable to presume that each tree extracted under the above selection fellings yielded an average of three to four cubic metre of timber. The extraction was usually limited to three trees per acre. It can therefore be reasonably concluded that the above quantity of 48,000 cubic metre of timber was extracted from not more than 5000 acres (2000 ha.). Probably some of the areas which were worked during one working plan might have been worked again during the later working plans. Also some of the areas which were more accessible might have been worked more than once. Complete details of areas and location of coupes worked are not forthcoming. Therefore, the area worked out above can only be considered as an approximation and can be the maximum area covered by Selection Fellirlg in Silent Valley. It can be reasonably believed that around 25 percent of the area of Silent Valley in the southern side was worked under Selection System and the rest of the inaccessible areas in the Northern portion were practically untouched and these still support virgin forest.DECLARATION OF NATIONAL PARKThe Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project was originally conceived in 1921. In 1931, the then forest engineer E.S. Dawson conducted preliminary Silent Valley National Park - A Historical Perspective 85studies on the project. The reconnaissance work on the project was taken up in 1951. On 5th January 1973, the Planning Commission approved the proposal to construct a 522 M.U. Hydroelectric Project at Sairandhri in Silent Valley. The project besides supplying power to North Kerala, was expected to provide irrigation facilities for 25,000 hectares in Palakkad district. The Kerala State Electricity Board commenced preliminary works of the project. The Planning Commission felt that the project would provide cheap and pollution free power compared to thermal power. The project would have resulted in the submergence of 830 hectares of forest area.The commencement of the project was strongly opposed by several non- governmental organisations, press and environmentalists on the premise that the project would destroy the only vestige of virgin tropical rain forests in Kerala. The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) passed a resolution on 15th October 1978 urging the Government of India not to take steps which might cause irreversible changes in Silent Valley Project Area, before different possible alternatives were studied and proper decisions were arrived at. Scientists who attended the symposium on Floristic Studies in Peninsular India held at Coimbatore in December 1978 also urged the Government to abandon the project for the preservation of the very interesting flora and fauna in Silent Valley. The seventh Congress of the International Primatological Society urged the Government of India to stop all activities in pursuance of Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project and to declare Silent Valley a Protected Area since it has one of the few viable populations of the Lion tailed macacque. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in September 1978 passed a resolution requesting the Government of India to conserve more effectively the forest areas of the Western Ghats including the disturbed forests of Silent Valley. The Bombay Natural History Society brought to the notice of the Government that Silent Valley's rich and complex habitat harboured many rare and endangered species of mammals, birds and reptiles and urged the Government to consider the alternative of a thermal station. The Kerala Natural History Society made a similar request to the Chief Minister of Kerala in February 1978. The Kerala Forest Research Institute recommended that the Silent Valley-Attappady area should be kept undisturbed and declared a biosphere reserve.In October 1976, the National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination (NCEPC) suggested that the work on Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project be suspended until an ecological impact analysis
86 K. Sasidharan Nair, K. Balachandran Thampi & N. V. Trivedi Babuwas made by a task force set by it for the ecological planning of the Western Ghats. The NCEPC subsequently recommended that the project should preferably be abandoned. If however this was not possible, a series of safe guards were suggested. The State Government decided to enforce the safeguards suggested by NCEPC and to go ahead with the project. The Government of Kerala enacted the Silent Valley Protected Area (Protection and Ecological Balance) Act of 1979 incorporating the above safeguards.The resumption of work on the project resulted in public resentment and protests. Two original petitions (O.P. No. 2949/79 and O.P. No. 3029/79) filed against the project were finally dismissed on 2nd January 1980 by the Honourable High Court of Kerala.Meanwhile, in October 1979 Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of India visited Silent Yalley, held discussions with the officials and submitted his report. While opposing the project, he opined that "the alternatives available for providing power, irrigation and jobs at no ecological risk, would help to achieve the desired social goals more speedily and economically." Based on the report Smt. Indira Gandhi in January 1980 requested the Government of Kerala to stop further work on the project till a holistic discussion took place.
A closed session discussion on the project was organised by the Government of Kerala on 26th April 1980 with the participation of scientists, engineers and persons directly connected with the project. Based on their deliberations, the Government of Kerala declared the Silent Valley Reserve a National Park; excluding the project area from the same.The opposition of the public to the project, however, did not subside. In August 1980, the Chief Minister of Kerala and the Prime Minister in a meeting decided to set up a Joint Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. M.G.K. Menon, Member, Planning Commission to examine whether the project could be taken up without significant ecological harm. The Committee in their report, submitted in December 1992, assessed the ecological features of Silent Valley, major aspects of its biological diversity and the impact of the project. The Committee also recognised that there were information gaps with regard to ecological regimes in the Western Ghats, inventories of natural habitats, distribution pattern, endemicity of species etc.Meanwhile, the Government of India enacted Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, as per which, no forest area could be diverted for nonforestry purposes without Government of India's permission. The Department of
Silent Valley National Park - A Historical Perspective 87Science and Technalagy appainted a multidisciplinary team ta study Silent Valley. Their repart indicated that it was nat desirable ta ga ahead with the praject.
During 1981, several publicatians .of scientific studies an Silent Valley such as 'Flara and Fauna .of Silent Valley,' 'Passible impacts .of prapased Hydraelectric Praject', 'Ecalagical imbalances .of Silent Valley,' 'Impact .of Hydraelectric Praject an Wildlife', etc. were braught aut. These publicatians threw light an the impartance .of the Silent Valley farests besides the intangible benefits flawing fram them.
Finally, as per the directians .of the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, the Gavernment .of Kerala decided ta abandan the project and declared the Silent Valley Reserve a Natianal Park as per G.O. 5462FSA/3/82 dated 15th Navember 1984 under the pravisians .of Wildlife (Protectian) Act, 1972. The Silent Valley Natianal Park was canstituted as a separate Divisian as per G.O. MS. Na. 45/88/F & WLD dated 16th May 1988.
Thus the enviranmental activism .of the public, the technical expertise .of scientists and bureaucrats and the wisdam and willingness .of the then Gavernments ta respond ta the public sentiments and scientific findings resulted in the birth .of Silent Valley Natianal Park and it was farmally inaugurated an 7th September 1985 by the then Prime Minister .of India, the late Shri. Rajiv Gandhi.BIOSPHERE RESERVEThe entire area .of the Silent Valley Natianal Park was made part .of the care area .of the Nilgiri Biasphere Reserve during the year 1986. The Silent Valley farests have been given tatal pratectian ever since and the Kerala Farest Department as well as variaus scientific arganisatians are undertaking research studies in the area.The histary .of Silent Valley cantinues ta be a saurce .of inspiratian ta all canservatianists; and the public awareness it generated has resulted in giving a better facus ta the impartance .of farests and biadiversity.It is haped that the whistles .of the breeze, the gurgles .of streams and splashings .of cascades in the Valley will cantinue ta have in them the eternal whispers .of reasan - Silent Valley is a precious pristine heritage from the past ta be passed an in tact to pasterity.
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