Karnataka rejects Kasturirangan report in current form, seeks ground survey of Western Ghats
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the Kasturirangan Committee report on Western Ghats conservation "in its present form."
The resolution objects to the latest (seventh) draft Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) notification issued on 27 July 2026, which identifies about 20,668 sq km across 1,449 villages in 10 Karnataka districts as ESA, based on satellite-derived boundaries rather than physical, on-ground survey.
The Assembly has sought exclusion of agricultural and horticultural land, plantations, human settlements and public infrastructure from the ESA boundaries, and has asked for a retired-judge-led, survey-number-based physical verification exercise, for which it has requested the Centre grant one year.
An all-party delegation is to meet the Prime Minister before the Centre's 27 September 2026 deadline for states to finalise their position on the ESA notification.
The Kasturirangan Committee (High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats, 2013)
The Kasturirangan Committee — formally the High-Level Working Group on the Western Ghats — was a 10-member panel constituted in 2012 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under space scientist K. Kasturirangan to review the earlier Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Gadgil Committee) report "in a holistic and multidisciplinary manner."
Key Details
- Submitted its report to the Ministry on 15 April 2013.
- Recommended placing about 37% of the Western Ghats under ESA status, sharply lower than the roughly 64% recommended by the Gadgil Committee (WGEEP, submitted August 2011).
- Divided the Western Ghats into a "natural landscape" (forests, wildlife habitats — recommended for strict regulation) and a "cultural landscape" (settlements, plantations, agricultural land — recommended for lighter regulation), unlike the Gadgil report, which treated the whole region uniformly as ecologically sensitive.
- The Western Ghats span roughly 1,29,037 sq km across six states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The ESA notification Karnataka is objecting to is the seventh in a series of draft notifications (since 2014) that have all been substantially based on the Kasturirangan Committee's boundaries, which the state argues were drawn from satellite data without adequate ground verification.
Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) Notification under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
An ESA (also referred to as an Ecologically Sensitive Area/Zone in this context) is notified by the Union Government under Section 5 read with Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to restrict specified activities — such as mining, red-category industries and large-scale construction — in ecologically fragile regions.
Key Details
- ESA notifications for the Western Ghats are issued as draft notifications first, allowing states to seek village-level or area-level modifications before a final notification is issued; the current notification is the seventh such draft since 2014.
- The process requires structured consultation between the Centre and the concerned states before finalisation.
- ESAs under the EPA framework are distinct from Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) notified around protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries) under Wildlife Protection Act-linked guidelines, though both aim to buffer ecologically fragile land from disruptive activity.
Karnataka's demand for a one-year, survey-number-based ground verification is a direct challenge to the methodology used to prepare this and earlier draft ESA notifications.
Forests and Wildlife in the Concurrent List — Centre-State Consultation
Both "Forests" and "Protection of Wild Animals and Birds" are subjects on which both Parliament and state legislatures can legislate, making environmental regulation in areas like the Western Ghats a matter of cooperative (and sometimes contested) federalism.
Key Details
- The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 moved "Forests" (from State List Entry 17) and "Protection of Wild Animals and Birds" (from State List Entry 20) into the Concurrent List as new Entries 17A and 17B respectively.
- This shift was intended to allow both central and state governments to legislate on forest and wildlife conservation, given their inter-state and national ecological significance.
- Because the subject is concurrent, in case of a conflict between a central law/notification and a state law, the central law generally prevails (Article 254), though states retain a strong role in implementation and consultation.
Karnataka's resolution and its planned all-party delegation to the Prime Minister exemplify the consultation and negotiation dynamic built into environmental regulation of a Concurrent List subject, rather than a unilateral state veto over a central notification.
- Seventh draft ESA notification (27 July 2026): approx. 20,668 sq km, 1,449 villages, 10 Karnataka districts.
- Kasturirangan Committee report submitted: 15 April 2013; recommended ESA over ~37% of the Western Ghats.
- Gadgil Committee (WGEEP) report submitted: August 2011; had recommended ESA over ~64% of the Western Ghats.
- Western Ghats span approximately 1,29,037 sq km across 6 states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu.
- Centre's deadline for states to finalise their stance on the ESA notification: 27 September 2026.
- Karnataka has sought a 1-year extension to complete a physical, survey-number-based verification of ESA boundaries.
- Constitutional basis for concurrent Centre-state legislative power over forests/wildlife: 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 (Entries 17A, 17B, List III).