The sixth and latest draft notification issued on July 31, 2024, to notify over 56,000 square kilometre of the Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive area (ESA) expired on Monday (July 27), with no consensus reached among states over the final demarcation and area. A seventh draft notification is likely to be issued, even as talks involving Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and an expert committee on the matter continue.
The Union government began the process of protecting and notifying an ESA for the mountain chain stretching 1,600 kilometers in 2010. A panel led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil recommended the designation of the Western Ghats as an ESA in 2011. Another panel under the late former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Kasturirangan later reviewed the issue, and the first draft notification to deliberate and discuss the matter was issued on March 10, 2014.
Five more notifications have since been issued and expired. The latest one specified that an area of 56,825.7 square kilometres of the ghats would be notified as an ESA across the six states. The concerned states have differed over the final area to be demarcated and the restrictions on development and other activities.
ESA draft notifications lapse after 725 days of issuing. A host of restrictions meant to preserve biodiversity are proposed under ESA. They include polluting activities such as red category industries, mining and quarrying, thermal power plants, and major development projects.
The latest draft proposed an area of 449 square kilometre in Gujarat, 17,340 square kilometre in Maharashtra, 1,461 square kilometre in Goa, 20,668 square kilometre in Karnataka, 6,914 square kilometre in Tamil Nadu, and 9,993.7 square kilometre in Kerala for ESA.
Talks involving the states and the expert committee the environment ministry constituted in 2022 continue. Sanjay Kumar, a former director general of forests, heads the panel. Officials aware of the matter said the committee’s tenure has been extended until July 2027.
“Talks continue and are progressing well. The final areas of concern will be addressed soon. The committee will share that with the ministry,” an official aware of the matter said. The official added a new draft will be issued in consultation with the committee.
The Western Ghats along India’s west coast are considered a biodiversity hotspot containing at least 325 globally threatened species. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
The ministry did not comment on HT’s queries on the expiry of the latest draft and the status of progress of notifying the ESA. On July 20, the ministry told Parliament that the process was ongoing and progressing. It said the ministry constituted a committee to examine the suggestions of the six states, keeping in view the conservation aspects of the ecosystem, and the rights, privileges, needs and developmental aspirations.
The ministry said the committee is deliberating on the concerns and suggestions of the state governments before finalising its recommendations on the draft notification. It added the ministry will thereafter examine the recommendations before finalising the draft notification.
The ministry said it has received comments, objections and suggestions on the draft notification and they have been forwarded to the respective state governments.
