Post-landslide, govt proposes Eco-Sensitive Zone in Western Ghats

WAYANAD, Kerala: Following the devastating landslide in Wayanad, Kerala, the government of India has proposed a draft notification to designate approximately 57,000 square kilometers of the Western Ghats as an ‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’.

The draft suggested designating 36 per cent of the Western Ghats as eco-sensitive, including covering 13 villages in Wayanad, and 9,993 square kilometers of Kerala.

The notification stated that the people living in these areas have 60 days to share their feedback on the draft. After that, the final notice will be issued either separately for each state or as a combined announcement.

The draft proposed to designate an area of 56,826 square kilometers across six states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat – as ‘ecologically sensitive’. This designation would impose various restrictions on commercial activities in the region.

The state-wise area of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area proposed by the centre is 449 sq km in Gujarat, 17,340 sq km in Maharashtra, 1461 sq km in Goa, 20,668 sq km in Karnataka, 6,914 sq km in Tamil Nadu and 9,993 sq km in Kerala.

This is the sixth time that the centre has issued a draft notification. The most recent draft was issued in July 2022, and a committee was formed to collaborate with state governments in finalising the notification.

Rampant commercialisation and the absence of the ‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’ tag have been identified as the major reasons behind the Wayanad tragedy, in which close to 300 people lost their lives.

The villages in Wayanad proposed to be declared as eco-sensitive zone are Periya, Thirunelli, Thondernad, Thrissilery, Kidanganad, Noolpuzha, Achooranam, Chundel, Kottappadi, Kunnathidavaka, Pozhuthana, Thariyod, and Vellarimala, as per the notification.

The process of declaring ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats has been ongoing since 2013 when a High-Level Working Group submitted its report.

The group submitted its report to the centre on April 15, 2013, which was sent to the six states for their considered views on the report. It identified approximately 37 per cent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, which covers an area of 59,940 sq km of natural landscape of Western Ghats.

The Ecologically Sensitive Area recommended by the Kerala state government was spread over an area of 9,993.7 sq km, which included 9,107 sq km of forest area and 886.7 sq km of non-forest area, compared to the 13,108 sq km recommended by the High-Level Working Group, the draft stated.

The activities that will be banned in the ‘ecologically-sensitive area’ will be mining (with existing mines phased out in five years), new thermal plants, industries in the ‘red category’, and all new and expansion projects of building and construction with a built-up area of 20,000 sq meter, the notification stated.