Western Ghats protection draft notification

• In the view of implementing the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats, the Environment Ministry has come up with the draft notification for the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in six States.
• In the backdrop of protests in Kerala, the Environment Ministry has made explicitly clear that plantations, agriculture and other routine activities in the ESA, declared under the Environment Protection Act, 1972, would not be restricted or impacted.
• The High Level working group headed by Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan had declared 37% of the area of Western Ghats ESA. Under Act, only activities explicitly mentioned in the formal notification of the ESA are banned, while others are permitted by default.

Guidelines (Draft Notification):

• The Ministry reiterated that any expansion of or new mining, quarrying and sand mining would be banned.
• New thermal power plants, heavily polluting industries, building and construction projects of an area 20,000 sq. metre and above, and township and area development projects between 50 ha and above or with a built-up area of 1,50,000 sq. metres would also not be allowed.
• All other projects that are not expressly banned under the government orders would be permitted only with the consent of gram sabhas.
• Only in mining would the existing projects be phased out within the next five years or at the expiry of the lease, whichever is earlier. In other cases, new projects and expansion of the existing ones and related activities would be banned. The existing projects would continue.