JOIN USThe Union Environment Ministry has extended the deadline given to the Western Ghat states till February end to submit their reports on the demarcation of the ecologically sensitive areas.
“Kerala has given its report. Goa and Gujarat have almost finished their reports that would be submitted soon. We have extended the time till February end at the request of Maharashtra,” union environment minister Prakash Javadekar said here.
In March, 2014 the Centre issued a draft notification on the “ecologically sensitive areas” (ESA) in the Western Ghats based on the reports of a panel, headed by space scientist K Kasturirangan.
While the report includes 123 Kerala villages inside the ESA, the Malabar state objected to that and carried out its own assessment. Kerala proposed a new boundary line for the ESA.
As a result, the draft notification declares 9,993.7 sq km as the ESA compared to 13,108 sq km as recommended by Kasturirangan panel. The total area under the ESA, therefore, was reduced to 56, 825 sq km from the original proposal of 59,940 sq km.
Subsequently, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest asked other Western Ghat states to carry out their own “ground truthing” exercise before the draft notification is finalised halting industrial activities in those areas.
The deadline was first extended up to December 2014 and subsequently till February. Last month, Karnataka stated it has prepared only half of the report that is to be submitted to the Centre. Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal asked the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest not to issue any fresh green clearance for the Western Ghats till the time it decides on the final composition of the ESA.