Western Ghats: What is the ESA plan for conservation, why states are opposing it

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has issued successive draft notifications to declare parts of the Western Ghats as Ecologic...

What Happened

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has issued successive draft notifications to declare parts of the Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA), with the most recent iteration in 2022.
Six states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — in whose territory the Western Ghats fall have raised objections, citing concerns over livelihood disruption and restrictions on developmental activities.
States have submitted counter-proposals with reduced ESA boundaries; Kerala, for instance, proposed 9,993.7 sq km compared to the expert panel's recommendation of 13,108 sq km.
The notification remains in draft stage, with the Centre seeking state consensus before finalising the ESA boundaries.

Static Topic Bridges

Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

ESAs, also termed Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs), are areas notified by the Central Government under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 around protected areas, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries, or around regions of exceptional ecological value. The designation imposes a graded set of restrictions: certain activities are prohibited (such as setting up of highly polluting industries, mining, quarrying), some are regulated (construction, hydropower projects), and others are permitted under oversight. The Western Ghats ESA differs from typical buffer-zone ESZs because it is proposed as an independent landscape-scale conservation zone rather than an appendage to a specific protected area.

Legal authority: Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
The draft notification for Western Ghats ESA has been revised multiple times since 2014, reflecting ongoing negotiation between conservation mandates and developmental concerns
The Kasturirangan Committee recommended approximately 60,000 sq km (37% of the Western Ghats) as ESA; the earlier Gadgil Committee had recommended 64%
Within designated ESAs, activities like new thermal power plants, mining and quarrying are to be prohibited; hydroelectric projects are allowed with limited restrictions

Connection to this news: The draft notification issued under EPA 1986 is the direct instrument through which the Centre is attempting to formalise the ESA boundary — and it is the legal scope of permissible activities within this boundary that drives state-level opposition.

Kasturirangan Committee vs. Gadgil Committee: Two Approaches to Western Ghats Conservation

The Western Ghats ecology has been examined by two successive expert committees, each with a distinct approach. The Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (2011) recommended that 64% of the Western Ghats be declared ESA, with strict restrictions extending to inhabited villages. The High Level Working Group (HLWG) chaired by K. Kasturirangan (submitted 2013) took a more moderate approach, proposing 37% (approximately 60,000 sq km) as the culturally-sensitive Natural Landscape zone requiring ESA status, distinguishing it from "cultural landscape" areas with significant human habitation.

Gadgil Committee (2011): 64% ESA coverage, stricter conservation; faced strong resistance from states and farming communities
Kasturirangan Committee (2013): 37% (~60,000 sq km) ESA coverage; recommended blanket ban on mining, quarrying, and red-category industries
Six states covered: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
The Centre's draft notifications (2014, 2018, 2022) have broadly followed the Kasturirangan recommendations

Connection to this news: The current draft notification is premised on the Kasturirangan boundary, yet even this reduced ESA footprint is facing sustained opposition, highlighting the tension between conservation mandates and local developmental aspirations across all six states.

Biodiversity and Ecological Significance of the Western Ghats

The Western Ghats is one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site (inscribed in 2012 across 39 properties). It spans approximately 1,600 km along India's western coast, running through six states. The region is the source of major peninsular rivers including the Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, and Periyar, making it critical for the water security of peninsular India. It harbours over 5,000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, and 179 amphibian species — a significant proportion of which are endemic.

UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012
One of 36 global biodiversity hotspots (as identified by Conservation International)
Source of major east- and west-flowing rivers serving peninsular India
The region supports a human population of more than 50 million, making any conservation notification politically and socially complex

Connection to this news: The biodiversity and hydrological significance of the Western Ghats is the core rationale for the ESA designation. The ecological stakes — preventing deforestation, mining, and urban sprawl — directly explain why the Central Government persists with the notification despite sustained state-level pushback.

Centre-State Relations and Environmental Governance

"Forest" and "environment" are entries in the Concurrent List (List III) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, meaning both the Centre and states have legislative competence. However, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 — a Central law — grants the Union Government overriding authority to issue notifications like the ESA. States are consulted in the draft stage but do not have a veto. The resulting governance tension is illustrated by the Western Ghats ESA, where states invoke socioeconomic concerns while the Centre invokes constitutional obligations toward environmental protection.

"Forest" is Entry 17A, Concurrent List; "Protection of wild animals and birds" is Entry 17B, Concurrent List
Central legislative framework: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
The Centre can finalise ESA notification even without state consent, though political costs are high
States have the administrative role in on-ground enforcement, creating implementation gaps

Connection to this news: The ongoing standoff between the Union Government and the six Western Ghats states reflects structural Centre-state tensions inherent in Concurrent List governance on environmental matters.

Key Facts & Data

Total Western Ghats area: approximately 1,64,280 sq km across six states
Kasturirangan Committee's recommended ESA: ~60,000 sq km (37% of the total)
Gadgil Committee's recommended ESA: ~1,29,037 sq km (64%)
Kerala's own demarcated ESA proposal: 9,993.7 sq km (against the panel's 13,108 sq km for Kerala)
UNESCO World Heritage Site status: granted in 2012 to 39 natural properties in the Western Ghats
The ESA notification prohibits new thermal power plants, mining, quarrying, and red-category industries within the designated zone
Six states in the Western Ghats: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu