Karnataka plans all-party delegation to meet PM Modi over Western Ghats row; special session from Monday
Karnataka's state government constituted an all-party delegation of legislators to formally place the state's position before the Union government on the Centre's latest draft notification declaring parts of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), based on the Kasturirangan Committee report
The state legislature convened a three-day special session beginning Monday to finalise the state's official response to the draft notification and to review the drought situation in the state
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had invited affected states to submit objections and feedback on the draft ESA notification by September 27
The state government reiterated its opposition to key recommendations of the report, citing concerns over the impact on farming and livelihoods in the Western Ghats region
Kasturirangan Report and the Western Ghats ESA Process
The Western Ghats ESA issue traces back to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), chaired by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, which submitted its report in 2011 recommending that around 64% of the Western Ghats be declared an Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ) with graded restrictions. Facing opposition from state governments over its stringency, the Union Environment Ministry constituted a High-Level Working Group (HLWG) chaired by space scientist K. Kasturirangan, which submitted its report on 15 April 2013 recommending a scaled-down ESA of about 37% of the Western Ghats (originally computed as ~59,940 sq km), excluding inhabited areas and plantations from restrictions.
Key Details
- WGEEP (Gadgil Committee) report, 2011 — recommended ~64% of the Western Ghats as ESZ-1 (highest protection)
- Kasturirangan HLWG constituted 2012, report submitted 15 April 2013 — scaled the ESA down to ~37% of the Western Ghats
- The ESA spans six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- Successive draft notifications have since revised the ESA footprint downward through ground-truthing; the most recent draft (the seventh reissue) proposes about 56,825 sq km as ESA
The special session and delegation are Karnataka's institutional response to the Centre's latest (seventh) draft notification under this decade-plus-long process, ahead of the September 27 deadline for state feedback.
Legal Mechanism for Notifying an Eco-Sensitive Area
An Eco-Sensitive Area is notified by the Central Government under Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, read with Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, which allow restricting or prohibiting industries, operations and processes in a specified area based on criteria such as biodiversity, land-use patterns and proximity to protected areas. The process runs through a draft notification (inviting public objections, typically within 60 days) followed by a final notification under Section 5 of the Act.
Key Details
- Statutory basis: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Section 3(2)(v) and Section 5; Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, Rule 5
- Draft notifications must invite public objections before a final notification is issued
- Each ESA notification typically constitutes a Monitoring Committee (often chaired by the District Collector) to oversee compliance
- The Western Ghats ESA notification has gone through multiple draft iterations since the first draft in March 2014, reflecting repeated state-level objections and area revisions
Karnataka's special session is meant to generate the state's formal objections/feedback to be submitted within the statutory window before the Centre can move toward a final notification.
Forests in the Concurrent List — Centre-State Consultation on Environment
Before 1976, "Forests" (Entry 19) and "Protection of wild animals and birds" (Entry 20) were subjects in the State List of the Seventh Schedule. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 moved them to the Concurrent List as Entries 17A and 17B, effective 3 January 1977, giving Parliament and the Union government concurrent legislative competence alongside states — the basis for central laws like the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Because forests sit in the Concurrent List, the Centre retains the final notifying authority for the ESA, while states like Karnataka use the statutory objection process and legislative deliberation to register their position — the constitutional design behind the ongoing back-and-forth.
Article 174 — Summoning Sessions of the State Legislature
Article 174 empowers the Governor to summon each House of the state legislature, acting on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. It mandates that not more than six months can elapse between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next, ensuring the legislature meets at least twice a year. A "special session" is simply a session summoned under this provision for a specific, time-bound agenda.
The three-day special session convened to deliberate on the ESA notification and the drought situation is an exercise of this constitutional mechanism for state legislatures to formally take up time-sensitive matters outside the regular budget/winter session calendar.
- Gadgil Committee (WGEEP) report, 2011: recommended ~64% of Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Zone
- Kasturirangan HLWG report, 15 April 2013: scaled this down to ~37% (originally ~59,940 sq km)
- Latest draft ESA notification: approximately 56,825 sq km across six states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu)
- States' deadline to submit objections/feedback on the current draft notification: September 27
- Forests and wildlife protection moved from State List to Concurrent List via the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 (effective 3 January 1977) as Entries 17A and 17B
- Constitutional basis for state legislature sessions: Article 174 (maximum six-month gap between sessions; minimum two sessions a year)