Gadgil was a man of compassion, remembers V.S. Vijayan

Ecologist V.S. Vijayan, a long-time associate of Madhav Gadgil, remembers him as a man of love and compassion.

Mr. Vijayan’s association with Gadgil, which began way back in 1975, went on to become a personal bonding over the past half century. It was further fortified when Mr. Vijayan, a former chairperson of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, was appointed as a member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel led by Gadgil.

“Gadgil Saab, as I fondly called him, rooted his approach in science and ecology. He never went after any political party or politicians, and always chose to air his views frankly and fearlessly. He stood by his views and dared to speak out, however unpalatable they were for others. Yet, he was full of love for others,” Mr. Vijayan said.

“I met Gadgil Saab for the first time in Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Mysore. He was coming with his daughter Myna sitting on his shoulder, and his wife following him. Later, I met him at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where we discussed projects for the design of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve at that time,” he remembered.

“The next important project in which we worked together was the WGEEP report. The panel was formed by Jairam Ramesh, the then Union Minister for Environment and Forest. Gadgil led the 14-member committee in which I was also a member. We did real hard work and produced the report by 2012. Unfortunately, the report was shelved for some time,” he said.

Later, the Ministry appointed a high-level committee led by Kasthurirangan to report on how to implement the recommendations of the panel. The Kasthurirangan panel suggested totally different recommendations and argued that 73% of the Western Ghats should be kept for development and the remaining 27% as a protected area, he said.

Gadgil was unhappy about the way in which the panel report was sabotaged and misrepresented in States like Kerala. He took a decisive leadership role in the ecological conservation aspects of Kerala, Mr. Vijayan pointed out.