Conservation of the Western Ghats: What Madhav Gadgil and Kast...

Conservation of the Western Ghats: What Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports recommended?

July 26, 2023

Why in News?

A landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district claimed 27 lives, flattened an entire village, and brought back into focus the conservation of the Western Ghats.
During a discussion in the Maharashtra Assembly, state congress chief asked what had happened to the Madhav Gadgil Committee report on ecologically sensitive zones in the Western Ghats.

What’s in Today’s Article?

About Western Ghats:

It is a mountain range that covers an area of 160,000 sq Km in a stretch of 1,600 Km parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula.
It traverses through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world.
These Ghats are home to high mountain forests, which moderate the tropical climate of the region and present one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet.
The forest in the Western Ghats has been severely fragmented due to human activities, especially clear-felling for tea, coffee, and teak plantations.
In 2010, the Union Environment Ministry appointed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), to be chaired by ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil.
The Gadgil commission was formed to study the impact of population pressure, climate change and development activities on the Western Ghats.
The commission submitted its report to the Centre in 2011.

Recommendations of the WGEEP:

Designate the entire region as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) and classify 64% of the Western Ghats into Ecologically Sensitive Zones called ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3.
Almost all developmental activities like mining, construction of thermal power plants, and dams were to stop along with the decommissioning of similar projects that have completed their shelf life in ESZ 1.
In all the zones, genetically modified crops should not be allowed, use of plastic bags be prohibited, Special Economic Zones should not be permitted, new hill stations should not be allowed, etc.
The report also suggested a bottom-to-top approach instead of a top-to-bottom approach in governance of the environment, indicating decentralisation and more powers to local authorities.
It recommended the establishment of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, as a professional body to manage the ecology of the region and to ensure its sustainable development.

Resistance to the Implementation of the WGEEP’s Recommendations:

Stakeholder states resisted the Gadgil panel recommendations amid fears of hindrance to development and loss of livelihood.
In particular, Kerala had objected to -
- The proposed ban on sand mining and quarrying,
- Restrictions on transport infrastructure and wind energy projects,
- Embargos on hydroelectric projects and inter-basin transfer of river waters, and
- The complete ban on new polluting industries.
In 2012, the Union Environment Ministry constituted a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats under former ISRO chief Dr K Kasturirangan, to formulate a report to replace WGEEP.

Recommendations of the Kasturirangan-led Panel:

It notified only 37% (against 64% by Gadgil commission) of the area as ecologically sensitive.
It also split the Western Ghats into cultural (human settlements) and natural (non-human settlements) regions. It was suggested that cultural lands be designated as an ESA.
It also consisted of red, orange and green categories.
- The red list entailed a ban on mining, stone quarrying, thermal plans and certain construction and township projects.
- The orange category had activities that would be regulated and taken up with appropriate permissions.
- The green category allows all agricultural and horticultural activities and commercial activities.

Gadgil vs Kasturirangan Reports:

The WGEEP was a pro-nature, pro-people report based on sound scientific information and feedback from central and state governments, zila parishads, gram panchayats and people.
Gadgil criticised the Kasturirangan report as faulty and unscientific because local communities have no role in economic decisions, clearly in violation of constitutional provisions.

Status of Implementation of above Reports:

In 2014, the Ministry of Environment and Forests submitted that it is examining the recommendations of the K Kasturirangan-led panel and will not process the Gadgil report for further action.
In 2017, the Environment Ministry demarcated an area of 56,285 sq Km in the Western Ghats as ESA as opposed to the 59,940 sq Km recommended by the Kasturirangan committee.
- In Kerala, this was brought down to 9,993.7 sq Km from the Kasturirangan committee recommendation of 13,108 sq Km as part of ESA.
Gadgil claimed that implementing its recommendations would have lessened the severity of the floods and landslides in Kerala in 2018.