New Delhi: The Government of India identified more than 56,000 square kilometres of the ecologically fragile Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive area (ESA). The Environment Ministry issued the seventh draft notification regarding this.
The previous draft notification was issued on July 31, 2024 — ESA draft notifications lapse after 725 days of issuing.
Like its predecessor, the latest draft notification (issued on July 27) has declared 56,825.7 sq km of the Western Ghats as ESA, across Gujarat (449 sq km), Maharashtra (17,340 sq km), Goa (1,461 sq km), Karnataka (20,668 sq km), Tamil Nadu (6,914 sq km), and Kerala (9,993.7 sq km).
ESAs are areas with unique biological resources, which require special attention for their conservation.
Panel to examine issues raised by six states
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh on July 23 said that a committee under a retired director general (forests) was examining issues raised by the six states regarding the final demarcation and area of the ESA in the Western Ghats.
“The concerns and suggestions of the state governments are deliberated by the committee with the respective state governments on merit for providing its recommendations to the (environment) ministry for finalisation,” Singh added.
The committee was formed in 2022 by the ministry with Sanjay Kumar, a former director general of forests, as its head.
Note that in 2011, a committee led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil recommended the designation of the Western Ghats as an ESA.
Another committee, chaired by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan, also reviewed the issue and gave its recommendations in 2013.
In March 2014, the Union Government issued the first draft notification to notify ESA in the Western Ghats region. Subsequently, in September 2015, February 2017, October 2018, and July 2022, other iterations of the draft notification were issued.
What is Western Ghats?
Stretching about 1,500 km, the Western Ghats are a chain of mountains running parallel to India's western coast. It is a biodiversity hotspot that contains a large proportion of the country's plant and animal species — many of which are only found here and nowhere else in the world. The Western Ghats play an important role in determining the climate and seasons in India.
