Western Ghats ESA: Residents and Environmental Groups Start Awareness Drive on the Kasturirangan Report
After the Karnataka Legislature's resolution of September 22, 2026 asked the Centre to limit the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) to notified forest areas, some residents of Western Ghats districts and environmental groups started an awareness campaign on what the ESA draft actually says.
Volunteers have printed the draft ESA notification in Kannada and are sharing the material on social media, so that local people can read it for themselves.
Supporters of the ESA say that over 80% of the proposed area is already protected in some form. According to one activist, about 4,000 sq km in Karnataka's Western Ghats has no legal protection at all, and the ESA would cover such land. As an example, they pointed to a proposed 2,000-acre nuclear power project near the Sharavathi backwaters in Sagara taluk (Shivamogga district), which is not forest land but would fall in the ESA, where red-category industries are not allowed.
Groups in Kodagu stressed that the Western Ghats are the catchment (the area that collects rainwater and feeds rivers) for peninsular India, including the Kaveri, and are essential for water security. They also linked rising human-animal conflict in the Malnad region to the loss of forests and wildlife corridors.
They said claims that the ESA would stop people from building houses or drying crops in their yards are misleading; the draft does not restrict house building or repair.
They also noted real concerns of farmers: many who cultivate revenue land inside the proposed ESA lack papers like hakku patras (land title documents), and some fear land values in Malnad could fall.
Categorisation of Industries: Red, Orange, Green and White Categories
India sorts its industries into colour groups based on how much pollution they can cause. The most polluting industries are placed in the Red category, then come Orange, Green and White (practically non-polluting). Since 2025, there is also a Blue category for essential waste-management services. The colour decides where an industry can be set up, how long its pollution permit lasts, and how often officials inspect it. The lists are prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and used by every State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
Supporters of the Western Ghats ESA point out that large projects on unprotected land, like the proposed nuclear power project near the Sharavathi backwaters, would fall inside the ESA, where red-category industries are not allowed. The colour categories therefore decide in practice which projects the ESA would stop.
Western Ghats: Geography and Ecological Significance
The Western Ghats are a long chain of hills and mountains along India's western coast. They run for about 1,600 km from Gujarat in the north to near Kanyakumari in the south, through six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Keralam and Tamil Nadu. They are older than the Himalayas and are among the richest places for plants and animals on Earth. They are often called the "water tower of peninsular India".
Groups backing the ESA argue that the Ghats' role as the catchment for peninsular rivers like the Kaveri is the main reason the whole range needs protection, not just the notified forests. They also link rising human-animal conflict in Malnad to the loss of habitat and corridors in the Ghats.
The Gadgil and Kasturirangan Committees on Western Ghats Conservation
Two expert groups set out how to protect the Western Ghats. The Gadgil Committee (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, report 2011) treated almost the whole range as ecologically sensitive. The Kasturirangan Committee (High Level Working Group, report 2013) proposed a smaller area: about 37% of the Ghats. Every ESA draft since 2014 is based on the Kasturirangan report.
Residents and environmental groups are translating and explaining the Kasturirangan-based ESA draft, while the Karnataka Legislature has asked for the ESA to cover only notified forest areas. Their campaign argues that the report is needed to protect the parts of the Ghats that currently have no legal protection.
- Karnataka Legislature resolution: September 22, 2026, seeking ESA limited to notified forest areas
- Draft ESA notification printed in Kannada by local volunteers
- Supporters' claim: over 80% of the proposed ESA already protected in some form; about 4,000 sq km in Karnataka's Western Ghats has no legal protection
- Proposed 2,000-acre nuclear power project near the Sharavathi backwaters (Sagara taluk) cited as an example of unprotected land inside the ESA
- Red-category industries are banned inside the Western Ghats ESA
- Western Ghats: about 1,600 km, six states, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012 (39 sites)
- Farmer concerns: missing land documents (hakku patras) and fears of falling land value