ESA notification raises concern among people in hilly regions of Kerala
Farmer groups in Kerala's hilly districts raised concerns over the draft notification declaring parts of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
The draft notification covers 131 villages in Kerala, with reported estimates of nearly 1,500 sq km of farmland and human habitation falling within the proposed ESA boundary
Concerns centre on restrictions the ESA tag could place on construction, land use, and existing agricultural and residential activity in the affected villages
The notification remains at the draft stage, with the window for public suggestions and objections still open
Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) — Legal Basis and Purpose
An Eco-Sensitive Area is a zone notified by the Central Government to regulate or prohibit specified activities in ecologically fragile areas, using powers under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, rather than declaring the area a protected area itself.
Key Details
- Legal basis: Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, read with Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, empowers the Central Government to restrict or prohibit industries, operations, and processes in specified areas
- ESAs are distinct from Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries — ESZs are typically drawn within 10 km of a protected area's boundary under the National Wildlife Action Plan framework, while Western Ghats ESAs follow a separate expert-committee-driven process
- Activities commonly restricted in draft ESA notifications include large-scale construction and township projects, quarrying, and polluting industries, while existing agriculture and small-scale habitation are generally sought to be exempted (a key point of dispute in implementation)
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the notifying authority
The concerns raised by hill-district residents in Kerala stem directly from uncertainty over how ESA restrictions under the 1986 Act will apply to existing farmland and settlements within the 131 villages covered by the draft.
Gadgil Committee (2011) vs Kasturirangan Committee (2013)
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Gadgil Committee, 2011) and the High-Level Working Group (Kasturirangan Committee, 2013) offered contrasting recommendations on how much of the Western Ghats should be designated ecologically sensitive, and this unresolved debate is the origin of the current round of draft notifications.
Key Details
- The Gadgil Committee recommended treating almost the entire Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, classifying it into zones of graded sensitivity (ESZ 1, 2, 3), and proposed a bottom-up, gram sabha-centred governance approach
- The Kasturirangan Committee, constituted in August 2012 after states rejected the Gadgil report, recommended a narrower approach — classifying only about 37% of the Western Ghats (roughly 60,000 sq km, the "natural landscape") as ESA, while excluding the "cultural landscape" of existing settlements and farmland
- Both committees recommended a complete ban on mining and quarrying within the ESA
- Successive draft notifications since 2013 have been repeatedly withdrawn and reissued after opposition from states, most recently accelerated following the Wayanad landslide disaster
The current draft notification, and Kerala's specific demand to exclude inhabited and farmed villages from the ESA boundary, reflects the long-running tension between the Kasturirangan framework's "natural vs cultural landscape" distinction and on-the-ground land use in hill districts.
Centre-State Consultation in Environmental Notifications
Environmental notifications under the 1986 Act are issued by the Union government, but Western Ghats states are consulted and can submit objections or suggestions before a notification is finalised, reflecting environment as a Concurrent List subject under the Constitution.
Key Details
- Environment and forests fall under Entry 17A (forests) and related entries of the Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule), allowing both Parliament and state legislatures to legislate, with Union notifications under central Acts like the 1986 Act binding on states
- Draft ESA notifications are typically opened for public objections and suggestions for a specified period (commonly 60 days) before finalisation
- Kerala has sought a reduction in the ESA area from the Centre's proposed figure by excluding villages it considers already inhabited or under cultivation, a request examined by the Centre's expert committee
The public consultation window referenced in the draft notification is the constitutional and procedural avenue through which Kerala's farmer groups and the state government can seek modification of village-level ESA boundaries before the notification is finalised.
- Villages covered under the Kerala ESA draft: 131 villages
- Farmland/habitation area reported within Kerala's ESA draft: approximately 1,500 sq km
- Legal basis: Section 3(2)(v), Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Rule 5(1), Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986
- Gadgil Committee (2011): recommended near-total Western Ghats coverage under graded ESZs
- Kasturirangan Committee (2013): recommended approximately 37% (about 60,000 sq km) of the Western Ghats as ESA
- Draft notifications on Western Ghats ESA have been reissued multiple times since 2013, most recently intensified after the Wayanad landslide
- Public objection/suggestion window for draft ESA notifications: typically 60 days