Government to finalize Western Ghats ESA plan covering 56,000 km2
After more than a decade of debates and revisions, the government is finally wrapping up plans to mark Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats.
Over 56,000 square kilometers of land in six states are proposed to be demarcated as ESA, meaning certain new mining, quarrying and large construction projects are proposed to be banned or heavily restricted, thanks to recommendations from the 2013 Kasturirangan report.
States split over Western Ghats ESA
Once officially notified, these ESA boundaries will have legal backing under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Gujarat, Goa, and Maharashtra seem ready to sign off; Kerala wants its protected area trimmed further and Karnataka is not fully on board yet.
The Western Ghats are not just scenic; they are a UNESCO-recognised biodiversity hotspot and one of Earth's biodiversity hotspots.
They help control India's climate, feed major rivers like Krishna and Cauvery, and shelter rare wildlife like Nilgiri tahr and lion-tailed macaque.