Story so far: Early this month, on July 6, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) reissued the draft notification of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats. The Dr Kasturirangan Committee report had proposed that 37% of the total area of Western Ghats be declared ESA. Soon after, however, legislators and ministers from Karnataka’s Western Ghats area, cutting across party affiliations, took exception to the draft notification, calling it “unscientific” and arguing that it would adversely affect the livelihood of people in the region.
This week, a delegation led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav to apprise him of the issues with the report. The Centre has now informed the Karnataka delegation that a high-level committee, constituted by the MoEF&CC and headed by retired IFS officer Sanjay Kumar, will research the landscape, and the draft notification will not be operationalised until this panel submits its report.
