The high-level committee formed by the centre had recommended declaring identified geographical areas falling under the six states as Ecologically Sensitive Areas.
Six states, through which the Western Ghats pass, have asked the Centre to expedite the process to notify the ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in the global biodiversity hotspot.
A draft notification was issued in October 2018 mentioning the ESAs.
The chief ministers of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu raised the issue during a video interaction with the union environment minister. They also expressed their views as regards activities and extent of the area mentioned in the said notification.
The states expressed the need to expedite the notification while protecting the interest of ecology and environment.
In its report submitted in August 2011, theMadhavGadgilCommission (set up in 2010), recommended that 64 per cent of the Western Ghats be declared ecologically sensitive.
To conserve and protect the biodiversity of the Western Ghats while allowing for sustainable and inclusive development of the region, the union environment ministry formed a working group on the Western Ghats, headed by Indian space scientist K Kasturirangan, in 2012. This committee has examined the Gadgil Commission report and recommended 37 per cent of the Ghats be declared ESAs.
A draft notification was issued in October 2018 mentioning the areas falling in the six states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu to be notified in the ESA.