BENGALURU: In a major breakthrough, the Central government has considered the objection of the stakeholders of the Western Ghats against implementation of the Dr Kasturirangan report, as a high-powered committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) will conduct physical landscaping and submit a detailed report in a year’s time.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav assured the delegation led by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which held deliberations in New Delhi on Monday, that unless the committee’s report is submitted, the draft notification re-issued by the MoEF&CC for Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) cannot be implemented.
“The stakeholder states have got another opportunity to safeguard their interests. Following the terms and references of the committee, a state-level committee will also be set up,” Bommai told reporters.
“The Kasturirangan report is unscientific as it is based on a satellite survey, following which the entire greenery, including plantations of farmers, are considered ESAs. We have sought a physical landscape survey,” he explained. “Union minister Yadav has also promised to pay a visit, following our request.”
The high-power committee will be requested to hear out grievances of the stakeholders, considering each village as a unit.
The states also objected to the Madhav Gadgil report, which was followed by the Kasturirangan report, saying that both were unscientific, he said.
The committee chairperson will be former Director General of Forests Sanjay Kumar (retd).
Panel to look into suggestions of states
Director of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, director-general of the Geological Survey of India and retired professor Dr R Sukumar of IISc, Bengaluru, as members, and the adviser or director, ESZ, as convener.
It will examine the suggestions of the state governments, keeping in view the fragility of the area, particularly due to recent disasters, and hold discussions with representatives of the six states and also deliberate whether the village as a unit should be taken as a criterion for demarcating the Eco Sensitive Zone.
The ESA is spread over 46,832 sqkm across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and Karnataka alone has 20,688 sqkm.
The Kasturirangan Committee report had proposed that 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats be declared ESA.
When the MoEF&CC reissued a draft notification on July 6 for ESAs in the Western Ghats, the Bommai cabinet had decided to raise objections.