Western Ghats: Ecologically Sensitive Area reduced to 56,825 sq km

High-level working group appointed by ministry had identified 13,108 sq km as ESA, which included 123 villages of Kerala

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified that  the Ecologically  Sensitive Area (ESA) in Kerala is spread over an area of 9,993.7 sq km only. This includes 9,107 sq km of forest and 886.7 sq km of non-forest area.

Earlier, the high-level working group appointed by the ministry had   identified 13,108 sq km as the ESA, which included 123 villages of  the state that are densely populated. This created a huge public outcry in Kerala as special environmental sanction is needed  for activities like construction in these areas.

The people in the High Range districts had started agitations, which sometimes turned violent, against the notification. It also became a political issue and at one point threatened the existence of the  United Democratic Front (UDF) government.  

This is also one of the major issues in the election campaign in Kerala. The High Range Samrakshana Samithi (HRSS) has fielded a candidate in the Idukki constituency against the Congress nominee. The Opposition LDF is strongly backing the HRSS candidate.  

The notification   now identifies approximately 37 per cent of  the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, which covers an area of 56,825 sq km only on a horizontal distance of 1,500 km.  Earlier this was 59,940 sq km. This is spread across six states of the  Western Ghats region namely,Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and includes protected areas and world heritage sites.

There is no change in the notified area of other affected states. Accordingly, Karnataka will have 20,668 sq km, Maharashtra 17,340 sq km,Tamil Nadu 6,914 sq km, Goa 1,461 sq km and Gujarat 449 sq km of ESA.

The fresh notification issued on March 10 largely agreed  with the report submitted by the expert committee headed by Oommen V Oommen appointed by the Kerala government to study the Kasturirangan report.

The committee had  undertaken an  exercise of demarcating the ESA  in the state by physical verification and to assess ground level information. It  had also set up panchayat level committees in the 123 villages falling within the ESA.

The expert committee and the panchayat level committees have recommended exclusion of cultural landscape from the ESA as identified by the high-level working group. The state government is of the view that agricultural areas, orchards, horticultural plots, plantation and residential areas may be kept out of the ESA, the notification said.