Western Ghats ecologically sensitive area

Geography glossary

Also called: Gadgil report, Kasturirangan report, Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports, Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel · Topic: Regional Planning and Sustainable Development in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) is the part of the Western Ghats that the Union environment ministry plans to notify under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, so that harmful activities there, such as mining, quarrying and highly polluting industry, are limited or banned. Two expert reports set its size: the Gadgil panel (WGEEP, 2011) proposed about 64% of the Ghats and the Kasturirangan group (HLWG, 2013) proposed about 37%.

It matters because the Ghats are a biodiversity hotspot on steep, very wet, landslide-prone slopes. The final notification has still not been issued, and disasters like the Wayanad landslides (2024) keep bringing the debate back.

Explanation

Why the Western Ghats need protection (cause → process → result)

  • Cause: the monsoon hits a wall of mountains
  • The south-west monsoon wind hits the range and is pushed up.

  • Rising air cools, its water vapour condenses, and heavy rain falls on the western side that faces the wind (the windward side).

  • Process: steep, wet slopes become unstable

  • The slopes are steep and the soils stay soaked.

  • Mining, quarrying, plantations and building cut into these slopes and remove the trees that hold the soil.

  • Result: a fragile region

  • Landslides become more common and more deadly.

  • A fragile region is an area where a small human disturbance can cause large damage that is hard to reverse.

  • What an ESA does

  • An Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) is notified by the Union environment ministry under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • Inside it, harmful activities are limited or banned, for example mining, quarrying and highly polluting industry.

The two reports compared

Feature WGEEP (2011) HLWG (2013)
Full name Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel High-Level Working Group
Head Madhav Gadgil (ecologist) K. Kasturirangan (former ISRO chief)
Area proposed as ESA About 64% of the Ghats About 37% of the Ghats
Zoning Three zones (ESZ 1, 2, 3). Rules get stricter from zone 3 to zone 1 Splits the land into natural landscape and cultural landscape. The ESA is mostly the natural landscape
Approach Bottom-up: gram sabhas (village assemblies) take part in decisions Top-down: a smaller area under strict bans
States' reaction Strong opposition from states, plantation groups and farm groups Accepted as the basis for later draft notifications
  • Natural landscape: forest and wildlife areas.
  • Cultural landscape: farms, plantations and settlements. HLWG mostly kept these out of the ESA.

Where the process stands now

  • Draft notifications
  • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued draft Western Ghats ESA notifications again and again since 2014.

  • All of these drafts are based on HLWG, not WGEEP.

  • State resistance

  • Kerala and Karnataka have resisted the drafts.

  • Both want inhabited villages and plantations left out.

  • Status: the final notification has not yet been issued.

  • Wayanad trigger (2024)
  • In July 2024, very heavy monsoon rain fell on steep, cut slopes in Wayanad (Kerala) and caused deadly debris flows (fast-moving mixes of mud, rock and water).
  • The disaster revived the Gadgil-versus-Kasturirangan debate about how much of the Ghats needs protection.

Link to older hill-area planning

  • The Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) began in the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79). One of its 15 districts was Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu), which lies in the Western Ghats region.
  • In 1981, the National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas said hill plans must fit each area's topography, ecology and people.
  • The ESA idea carries the same rule forward: development must fit the land.

Where it occurs

  • Extent: the Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri, run about 1,600 km along India's west coast. They stretch from the Tapi valley (Gujarat–Maharashtra border) south to near Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
  • Six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • Rivers: major Peninsular rivers rise here. The Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow east to the Bay of Bengal.
  • States resisting the drafts: Kerala and Karnataka.
  • Disaster site: Wayanad, Kerala, in the Western Ghats (landslides, July 2024).
  • Who runs it: the Union MoEFCC, using its powers under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Reports came in 2011 (WGEEP) and 2013 (HLWG), and draft notifications have followed since 2014.

Don't confuse with

  • Gadgil vs Kasturirangan: Gadgil (WGEEP, 2011) proposed about 64% in three zones with gram sabha participation. Kasturirangan (HLWG, 2013) proposed about 37%, mostly the natural landscape, and is the basis of the draft notifications.
  • Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 vs Forest (Conservation) Act: ESAs, including the Western Ghats ESA, are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, not under the Forest (Conservation) Act.
  • Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ): this is also notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, but it controls the coastal strip up to 500 m from the High Tide Line, not the hill ranges.
  • Himalayan carrying-capacity studies: these are a different planning tool for Himalayan towns such as Joshimath (2023). The Supreme Court (2024) asked for them. They are not an ESA notification.

Prelims Hooks

  • WGEEP (2011), headed by Madhav Gadgil, proposed about 64% of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, in three zones (ESZ 1, 2, 3).
  • HLWG (2013), headed by K. Kasturirangan, cut the ESA to about 37%, mostly the natural landscape.
  • The Western Ghats ESA is notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Trap: it is not notified under the Forest (Conservation) Act.
  • The Western Ghats pass through six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They run from the Tapi valley to near Kanyakumari.
  • Draft notifications have been issued since 2014, all based on HLWG. Kerala and Karnataka have resisted them, and the final notification is still pending.
  • Trap: the Wayanad landslides (2024) happened in Kerala's Western Ghats, not in the Himalayas.

Mains Points

  • Development vs a fragile region (GS-I, GS-III): mining, quarrying, plantations and building on steep, rain-soaked slopes raise landslide risk in a biodiversity hotspot. Zoning the Ghats as an ESA applies HADP's Fifth Plan rule that plans must fit topography and ecology.
  • Federal and livelihood conflict: Kerala and Karnataka want villages and plantations left out, so the ESA has stayed at draft stage since 2014. A way forward is to involve gram sabhas, as WGEEP suggested, while keeping firm limits in the most sensitive zones.
  • Disasters as triggers (GS-III: disaster management): Wayanad (2024) showed that cutting steep slopes turns heavy monsoon rain into a deadly disaster. It revived the Gadgil-versus-Kasturirangan debate and strengthened the case for a final, enforceable ESA notification.

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