Western Ghats ESA Notification Faces Delays

Fourteen years after ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s committee first recommended the demarcation of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats, the Union environment ministry has yet to finalise the notification.

The Gadgil panel had initially proposed that 75% of the 129,037 sq km area of the Western Ghats be declared environmentally sensitive due to its dense forests and numerous endemic species. However, the proposal met with significant resistance from many states, who deemed it too restrictive. In 2014, a second panel led by rocket scientist K Kasturirangan reduced the proposed ESA to 50%. Despite this, the Kasturirangan report’s recommendations were further diluted, leading to four draft notifications over the years. On July 22, the Union environment ministry informed the Lok Sabha about the latest draft notification issued on July 6, 2022, which proposed an ESA covering 56,825 sq km across six states: Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. However, states have continued to seek modifications to this proposal.

Kerala and Karnataka, in particular, have been opposed to designating certain areas as ecologically sensitive, citing concerns about the impact on activities such as rock quarrying, mining, and the establishment of new industries. These objections have contributed to the delays in finalising the ESA notification. To address the states’ concerns, the environment ministry constituted a committee to re-examine the suggestions from the six state governments. This committee aimed to balance the conservation needs of the disaster-prone Western Ghats with the developmental aspirations and rights of the region’s inhabitants. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the draft notification was finalised.