What is Karnataka’s objection to the ESA? | Explained

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On September 22, the Karnataka Legislature unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the K. Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats in its current form. The resolution was in response to the seventh draft, published on July 27 by the Ministry of Environment, Ecology and Climate Change to declare parts of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The draft gave the State government a 60-day window to file its objections.

This was the seventh instance of the Karnataka government rejecting the draft, which was first published in 2014. Successive governments have acknowledged the Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive region, but have highlighted the ESA’s impact on lives and livelihoods. There have been widespread protests over fears of loss of livelihood, as well as public consultations in the Malnad region. Of the six Western Ghats States, Karnataka has the largest area to be notified as an ESA, spread across 10 districts.

Eminent space scientist K. Kasturirangan chaired the High Level Working Group (HLWG), which was tasked with reviewing the earlier Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), headed by Prof. Madhav Gadgil, and recommending measures to protect the fragile Western Ghats, recognised by UNESCO as one of the world’s ecological hotspots. The WGEEP submitted its report in 2011. Set up in 2012, the HLWG submitted its recommendations in 2013. Of the 1.64 lakh square kilometres of the Western Ghats, it recommended declaring 59,940 sq. km, covering 4,156 villages across Keralam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, as ESA.

Karnataka has the largest area recommended under the ESA and the highest number of villages among the six States. About 41% of the total Western Ghats area has been identified as natural landscape, of which 37%, or about 59,940 sq. km, is biologically rich, has low fragmentation and low population density, and contains protected areas, World Heritage Sites, and tiger and elephant corridors. The report identified 20,668 sq. km across 1,576 villages in Karnataka, 17,340 sq. km across 2,159 villages in Maharashtra, 13,108 sq. km across 123 villages in Keralam, 6,914 sq. km across 135 villages in Tamil Nadu, 449 sq. km in 64 villages in Gujarat and 1,461 sq. km in 99 villages in Goa.

Currently, the area sought to be notified is 56,825 sq. km, mainly after Keralam undertook a ground survey and brought down its area to 9,993 sq. km. Subsequently, the number of villages in Maharashtra and Goa has increased, while the number has come down in Karnataka. As per the latest draft, a total of 4,402 villages will be part of the ESA. The actual area is sought to be finalised based on the recommendations of the State governments, the views of stakeholders, and the ESA Expert Committee.

The report recommends a total ban on certain activities and regulation of others. Banned activities include mining, quarrying, sand extraction, setting up red-category industries, thermal power plants, and construction of buildings beyond 20,000 square metres. It has prohibited township and area development projects. It has subjected infrastructure and development projects to environmental clearances and allowed hydroelectricity projects with certain conditions. All development projects located within 10 km of the Western Ghats ESA and requiring environmental clearance would be regulated under the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006. It has also recommended financial arrangements and incentives for Green Growth in the Western Ghats, and suggested a decision-support and monitoring centre.

There has been intense debate among experts, environmentalists and policymakers over the recommendations of the two reports. The two committees differed on the extent of the area to be declared ecologically sensitive and brought under protection. The Gadgil Committee designated the entire Western Ghats as an ESA and estimated it to cover about 1.29 lakh sq. km, whereas the Kasturirangan Committee identified 1.64 lakh sq. km as the Western Ghats, of which about 60,000 sq. km were sought to be declared ESA. To initiate the conservation exercise, the Gadgil Committee recommended three categories of Ecologically Sensitive Zones — 1, 2 and 3 — with corresponding restrictions and bans on activities. The Kasturirangan Committee divided the Western Ghats into natural and cultural landscapes, with the latter being areas that have helped sustain lives but have lost their original character over centuries. The prohibition or restriction of activities is sought to be implemented in the ESA.

The State has argued that the ESA should cover only notified forest areas and other forest areas, and should not include plantation areas, agriculture and horticulture fields, or residential and public areas. It has pointed out that the areas were demarcated using satellite data and not through a joint survey. It has said there is no accurate bifurcation of revenue and forest land, and that there is no reference to provide alternatives for livelihood. It has argued that Bagair Hukum, forest rights, deemed forest, land grants, appeals, and legal cases should be considered. These issues, it has said, should be examined by an expert committee through a physical survey. It has also opposed the logic of including entire villages under the ESA because one-fifth of a village’s area may be forest.

On the ground, genuine concerns have been expressed about possible restrictions on agriculture, housing and day-to-day activities by zealous forest officials. However, misinformation is also being spread in the name of the report. For example, though no restriction has been proposed on house building or renovation activities, ill-informed leaders at the local level are fuelling fears and anxiety that the measures would bring all such activities to a complete halt. There is also concern over a possible loss in the value of agricultural and plantation land due to restrictions, which could result in reduced investment in agriculture.

Rejecting the report in its current form, both Houses of the Karnataka Legislature passed a unanimous resolution seeking one year to conduct a physical survey of the area and demanded that Karnataka’s part should not be finalised till then. It has announced the setting up of a high-level committee headed by a retired judge and comprising all stakeholders to review the shortcomings of the Kasturirangan report and recommend modifications. Cutting across party lines, legislators urged the government to follow the ‘Keralam model’, under which such physical verification was conducted and submitted to the Centre.

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