What Are Ecologically Sensitive Areas? Centre’s New Plan For The Western Ghats Explained

The Centre is preparing to notify Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in parts of the Western Ghats where agreement with states has largely been reached, marking a possible first step toward implementing long-pending environmental restrictions in the 1,500-km mountain chain.

Over 56,000 sq km across six states are proposed to be brought under the ESA framework based on the 2013 recommendations of a high-level working group headed by former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan.

The move comes after more than a decade of draft notifications, repeated revisions and continuing negotiations with states such as Karnataka and Kerala over the extent of protected zones. Officials told The Indian Express said the Centre is now considering a phased notification, beginning with Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa, where boundaries are either final or close to being settled. The draft notification issued in 2024, which proposed 56,825.7 sq km as ESA, is set to expire on July 27, adding urgency to the process.

At its core, the ESA framework is intended to regulate or restrict high-impact activities in ecologically fragile zones. In the Western Ghats context, this includes bans or tight controls on new mining and quarrying, thermal power plants, red-category polluting industries, and large construction projects above 20,000 sq metres. The final notification, once issued under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, would give these restrictions legal force.

What are Ecologically Sensitive Areas?

Ecologically Sensitive Areas are notified regions identified for their ecological importance and vulnerability, where development is regulated to reduce environmental damage. The concept is applied in zones where ecosystems are considered fragile, biodiversity is high, and human activity needs to be balanced with conservation.

In the case of the Western Ghats, the ESA idea has evolved through multiple expert assessments and government committees. The process began with the Madhav Gadgil Committee in 2010, which recommended that the entire Western Ghats region—about 129,037 sq km—be treated as ecologically sensitive, with strict regulation depending on local ecological fragility. The report faced strong resistance from states and was not implemented in full.

The Centre then set up a high-level working group led by K Kasturirangan in 2012. After ground verification, the panel reduced the proposed protected area to about 60,000 sq km, distinguishing between “natural landscapes” requiring stronger protection and “cultural landscapes” with existing settlements and agricultural activity. This recalibration became the basis for later draft notifications issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), including the first one in 2014.

What ESAs mean under the Western Ghats plan

Under the Kasturirangan-based framework, ESAs in the Western Ghats are not meant to halt all human activity but to impose graded restrictions based on ecological sensitivity. The regulatory focus is on curbing activities with high environmental impact while allowing existing settlements, agriculture and some forms of development.

The restricted categories include mining, quarrying, sand extraction, establishment of new thermal power plants, expansion of highly polluting industries, and large construction projects above a defined built-up threshold. The idea, according to officials cited in the report, is to maintain ecological continuity across the Ghats while avoiding fragmentation caused by unregulated industrial and infrastructure expansion.

The Western Ghats are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s recognised biodiversity hotspots. They play a critical role in influencing monsoon patterns and serve as the origin of major river systems such as the Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery, Mandovi, Periyar and Sharavathi, making the ecological stability of the region closely linked to water security across peninsular India.

Where the Centre and states stand

The notification process has been shaped by prolonged disagreements between the Centre and states over the extent of land to be included. The Indian Express reported that Gujarat has given final consent for around 449–470 sq km across 64 villages, though it has sought permission for limited minor mineral extraction in non-forest areas and protection for ongoing projects.

Maharashtra, which has the second-largest proposed ESA area at about 17,340 sq km, has agreed in principle but has sought exclusion of 378 villages out of 2,515 identified villages, mainly to preserve space for mining and industrial activity. Goa has sought to exclude 21 villages in Sattari taluka from the 108 villages demarcated as ESA. Tamil Nadu, which has 6,914 sq km proposed under ESA, has not raised major divergences, though final demarcation is still pending. Both states remain in the broader phase of finalisation along with minor boundary-level adjustments.

Karnataka and Kerala remain the most contentious. Karnataka, which has the largest share of proposed ESA at 20,668 sq km, has formally rejected the Kasturirangan recommendations but continues discussions with the Centre. The Indian Express reported that Kerala has sought to reduce its ESA area from 9,993.7 sq km in the 2024 draft to 8,805 sq km, including exclusion of several villages in Idukki and Wayanad, a demand not accepted by the expert committee.

Centre’s new Western Ghats plan

According to The Indian Express, the Centre is now preparing to move ahead in phases rather than wait for consensus across all six states. This marks a shift from earlier attempts where a single draft notification covered all states together but stalled due to disagreements.

An expert committee set up in 2022 is currently reviewing state objections and reconciling village-level land records to ensure accurate demarcation. It is headed by former forest official Sanjay Kumar and includes experts from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and Geological Survey of India.

The committee has also been correcting inconsistencies in village data and boundary records, a process officials say is necessary to ensure continuity of protected ecological corridors across the Ghats.

Why ESAs in the Western Ghats matter now

The Western Ghats are central to the ecological balance of peninsular India. Environmental concerns around landslides, deforestation, habitat loss and unregulated construction have repeatedly brought attention to the need for stronger regulatory frameworks in the region.

The ESA notification, once finalised, is expected to provide a formal legal structure under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, to control activities that put pressure on fragile ecosystems.

The outcome of the current phase will determine how much of the Western Ghats receives formal protection and how states and the Centre balance environmental restrictions with developmental demands in one of India’s most sensitive ecological zones.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)