Centre May Implement Gradual Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Areas in Western Ghats

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 6th August. The Indian government may adopt a state-by-state approach to declaring eco-sensitive areas (ESAs) in the Western Ghats, rather than issuing a blanket notification for the entire region. This decision, revealed by sources on Monday, follows ongoing objections from state governments and challenges in finalizing the comprehensive notification.

Since March 2014, the Union Environment Ministry has issued six draft notifications proposing to designate over 56,825.7 square kilometers across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu as ESAs. However, the final notification remains pending due to state-level objections.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated that an expert panel, led by former Director General of Forests Sanjay Kumar, is working with states to address concerns. The panel concluded that a phased approach, addressing each state individually, might be more feasible than a simultaneous declaration for the entire region.

The decision to consider an incremental approach comes in the wake of a series of landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad district, which have claimed over 300 lives. These disasters have highlighted the urgent need for ecological protection in the region, with scientists linking them to forest cover loss, mining, and climate change.

The draft notification proposes that 9,993.7 square kilometers in Kerala, including 13 villages affected by the recent landslides, be designated as ecologically sensitive. The proposed notifications also suggest banning mining, quarrying, sand mining, and new thermal power projects, while existing projects would face restrictions on expansion.

The process of declaring the Western Ghats as ESAs has been contentious. The initial recommendations by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel in 2011, led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, proposed declaring the entire hill range as ESAs and implementing stringent environmental regulations. These recommendations met resistance from state governments, industries, and local communities.

In response, the Centre established a High-Level Working Group under K Kasturirangan in 2013, which proposed identifying 37 percent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive. Despite these efforts, achieving consensus and finalizing the notification remains a complex challenge.