This is why Western Ghats need to be tagged eco-sensitive area | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Landslides that hit the ecologically fragile region of Wayanad in Kerala on Tuesday is a stark reminder of the failure of successive govts in notifying the Western Ghats as an eco-sensitive area (ESA) – a prerequisite to preserving the terrain by banning environmentally hazardous human activities.
Despite five draft notifications by the Centre since March 2014, the states – initially Kerala but later mainly Karnataka – are still not on board for final notification leaving ecologically sensitive areas unprotected.
It is learnt that one more draft notification, the sixth one, is expected to be issued in a day or two as the validity of the fifth notification expired a month ago. The draft will give yet another chance to work towards building consensus that has eluded the region for the last 10 years.

The entire Western Ghats, spread over six states including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, is the second most landslide-prone region of the country after Himalayas. Though Maharashtra and Goa sought a reduction in the extent of ESA within the respective states for allowing development works, the then govt in Karnataka urged the Centre in 2022 to withdraw the draft arguing that it would adversely affect the livelihood of the people in the state.
Absence of ESA cover to Western Ghats, meanwhile, resulted in continuation of several environmentally-hazardous human activities, including massive deforestation for mining and construction over the years, leading to loosening of soil and affecting hillside stability – the main reason of landslides during extremely heavy rainfall like the ones that struck Kerala.