Western Ghats to be declared Ecologically Sensitive Area

The high-level committee formed by the centre had recommended declaring it

• The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar held an interaction with all the state
  Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers & State Government Officers of six states
• Regarding to discuss issues related to the notification of Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
  pertaining to Western Ghats
• The six states include Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which
  make up the Western Ghats

Formation of high level committee

• The Government of India had formed a high-level working group under the chairmanship of
  Dr. Kasturirangan to converse and protect the bio diversity of Western Ghats while at the same
  allowing sustainable and inclusive development of the region
• The Committee had recommended declaring identified geographical areas falling under the
  six states as Ecologically Sensitive Areas
• A draft notification regarding the same was issued in October 2018. The notification
  mentions the areas that are to notified as ecologically sensitive

Key findings of the meeting

• All six states unanimously voiced out the need to ensure protection of the western ghats,
  given its valued importance
• All the six states urged the centre to expedite early notification of Ecologically Sensitive Area
  while protecting interest of ecology and environment
• The states expressed their views as regards activities and extent of area mentioned in the
  centre’s notification
• It was decided that state specific issues shall be further deliberated to arrive at a consensus
  on the matter
• The State of Maharashtra proposed to include a greater number of villages as Ecologically
  Sensitive Areas
• Under its proposal, the state has requested to include 2,092 villages under ESA
  The Centre had proposed to include 2,133 villages
• These villages cover 37% of Western Ghats
• The Ministry also said that the lives of about 50 million people living in Western Ghats region
  will “not” be affected, in the wake of apprehensions on the same

What is “Western Ghats”?

• It is also known as Sahyadri (Benevolent Mountains), are a mountain range that covers an
  area of 140,000 square km (54,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 km
• It is parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Kerala,
  Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight “hottest hot-spots” of biological
  diversity in the world
• It contains a large proportion of the country’s flora and fauna, many of which are only found
  in India and nowhere else in the world
• According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas
• They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon
  winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer

What is “Ecologically Sensitive Area”?

• The Ecologically Sensitive Areas are areas in India notified by the Union Ministry of
  Environment around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries
• The main objective behind declaring the areas as sensitive to protected the areas by
  regulating and managing the activities around such areas
• The government can restrict industry operations, construction, mining or any other activity
  in the areas

Pic courtesy : indianthinkers.com