Lok Sabha Question No. 4211 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-13
Subject: Ecologically Sensitive Area
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shobha Karandlaje

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0. 4211

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2019

## Ecologically Sensitive Area

## 4211.    KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it  is  a  fact  that  Gadgil  Panel  had  proposed  to  designate  the  entire  Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Panel  had  recommended  controls  on  mining,  building  new  large  scale dams and inter basin diversions of rivers, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Western Ghats States have ignored and rejected the recommendations as a result of which they had to face fury of monsoon along with floods and landslides recently;
- (d) if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  directed  the  concerned  States  to  curb  such environmentally dangerous practices and switch over to a more sustainable farming approach in the region;
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  formulated  any  action  plan  for  the  conservation  and protection  of  Western  Ghats  in  view  of  the  recent  floods  and  landslides,  if  so,  the steps taken to protect vast ecosystem of Western Ghats and itsbio-diversity?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a) to (f) To preserve and protect Western Ghats, this Ministry had set up the Western Ghats Ecology  Expert  Panel  (WGEEP)  under  the  Chairmanship  of  Prof.  Madhav  Gadgil  for recommending  measures  for  the  conservation  and  environmental  integrity  of  the  Western Ghats to promote sustainable development of the region. Considering large scale objections to  the  report  submitted  by  WGEEP,  a  High  Level  Working  Group  (HLWG)  under  the Chairmanship  of  Dr.  K.  Kasturirangan  was  constituted  by  this  Ministry  to  examine  the WGEEP Report  in  a  holistic  manner  and  recommend  measures  for  the  protection  of  the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) of Western Ghats.

Based on the recommendation of HLWG, to provide immediate protection to the ESA of the Western  Ghats,  the  Government  issued  Directions  under  Section  5  of  the  Environment (Protection)  Act,  1986  on  13.11.2013.  As  per  the  Directions,  the  five  categories  of  new and/or  expansion  projects/activities  having  maximum  interventionist  impact  on  ecosystems namely (i)   Mining, quarrying and sand mining (ii)   Thermal Power Plants (iii)   Building

and  construction  projects  of  20,000  square  meters  area  and  above  (iv)  Township  and  area development projects with an area of 50 hectares and   above and /or with built up area of 1,50,000 square meters  and above and (v) Red category of industries are prohibited in the ESA of Western Ghats.

Further, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) had issued draft Notification vide S.O. 733 (E) dated 10.02.2014, with an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) of 56,825 square kilometres, in the States of Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.  The draft Notification was subsequently republished thrice, vide S.O. 2435 (E) dated 04.09.2015; S.O. 667 (E) dated 27.02.2017 and S.O. 5135 (E) dated 03.10.2018 with same ESA area.               In order to follow a coherent and consistent approach in notifying  the  ESA  of  the  Western  Ghats,  Ministry  had  interactions  with  all  the  States  of Western Ghats region at various levels from the  year 2015-16 till date. Due to persistence demand from the states to reduce/alter the ESA area from the recommendation of the HLWG, the draft Notification could not be finalised.

During  the  Kerala  Flood  and    Landslides  in  2018,the  National  Disaster  management Authority (NDMA)had sent an Expert Team for the study of landslides in Idukki district of Kerala. The brief field  report  of  the  team  was  forwarded  to  the  Government  of Kerala  for necessary actions. Further, the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) provides overall frameworks for management of different disasters including landslides and floods. In order to reduce the impact of future landslide calamities, NDMA has released a National Landslides Risk Management Strategy to take action by the concerned States/ State Disaster Management  Authorities  (SDMAs)  and  other  stakeholders  for  making  landslide  resilient India.

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