Western Ghats: Expert panel to visit Goa to assess state’s demands on eco-sensitive area demarcation

Early successful August, the Centre had issued the sixth iteration of a draught notification declaring 56,825.7 sqkm of the Western Ghats arsenic ecologically delicate area, for extortion of the contiguous, biodiverse hotspot spanning Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Centre had provided the states a 60-day model arsenic per instrumentality seeking their views and objections connected the villages demarcated arsenic ESA.

This would beryllium the committee’s archetypal tract sojourn aft the expiry of the 60-day window. Once finalised, villages marked arsenic ESA volition spot a implicit prohibition connected mining, quarrying and soil mining arsenic good arsenic phasing retired of existing mines successful 5 years.

“The authorities authorities has sought exclusion of astir 21 villages, each of them from Sattari taluka successful North Goa district. We person received accusation astir the panel’s foreseeable visit,” said a reliable root from the authorities situation department.

The July 2024 draught notification connected Western Ghats marked 108 villages arsenic ESA successful the verdant authorities that is location to affluent riverine arsenic good arsenic coastal biodiversity. These villages are dispersed implicit an country of 1,461 sq km, with 63 located successful Sattari taluka unsocial and the remainder are successful Canacona, Dharbandora, Sanguem talukas successful South Goa district.

Meanwhile, a seven-member sheet appointed by the authorities authorities is already examining immoderate of the views submitted by villagers crossed the state, seeking retention of their villages successful the ESA list. Loliem and Poinguinim from Canacona taluka are 2 specified villages that person submitted representations to the Centre to clasp their villagers arsenic ESA, a root from the state’s situation section added.

Unlike the erstwhile iterations of the draught notification connected Western Ghats, the latest 1 has for the archetypal clip specified that determination could yet beryllium abstracted last notifications demarcating ESAs. This could beryllium done either state-wise successful a phased manner, oregon done a combined azygous notification.

The demarcation of the astir 60,000 sqkm ESA has been pending for 13 years since the United Progressive Alliance archetypal tasked an adept sheet led by elder ecologist Madhav Gadgil to survey the contented of protecting Western Ghats.

The Gadgil sheet submitted a study recommending that the full Ghats portion beryllium tagged arsenic ecologically delicate and instauration of an overarching ecological authorization to modulate development. However, that study was ne'er adopted and a sheet led by abstraction idiosyncratic K Kasturirangan was aboriginal formed to demarcate ESA’s utilizing the Gadgil sheet study arsenic the foundation.

The Kasturirangan sheet archetypal demarcated 56,825.7 sq km arsenic ESA.