Keralam argues for limiting the ESA to 98 villages and 8,590.69 km2

Controversy surrounding the ecologically sensitive area, which has rocked the state ever since the Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Expert Panel on Ecology (WGEEP) report, has returned with renewed vigor as the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate has reissued the draft ESA notification for the entire Western Ghats for the seventh time in a decade.

Keralam would reiterate its demand to limit the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) in its Western Ghats region to 98 villages spread over 8,590.69 sq km as the last date to file objections to the Centre’s ESA notification expires on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

The objection, which calls for special treatment and categorization for the state, also seeks to limit the ESA to forests and leased forest plantations. The proposals are likely to come before the state cabinet on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

The ESA controversy, which has rocked the state ever since the Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Expert Panel on Ecology (WGEEP) report, has returned with renewed vigor as the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate has re-issued the draft ESA notification across the Western Ghats for the seventh time in a decade. The 60-day public objection period ends on September 24. Protests and public opposition are looming in several ESA villages in the state as there are fears of possible curtailment of some activities.

However, preservationists are vehemently opposed to any dilution of standards, who describe the protests as the work of their own interests. They also demand that the conservation regime be strengthened as the Ghats play a key role in supporting the life and ecology of at least six states, including Kerala.

Miscalculation

The state will try to convince the Union government that there has been a miscalculation of the total extent of ESA in the state. The Union government sought to clarify why the ESA was reduced to 8,590.69 sq km and 98 villages from the earlier 9,993.7 sq km and 131 villages as submitted earlier. The state would argue for the exclusion of human habitation from the scope of the ESA. The state would also highlight its increased forest cover as shown in the annual reports of the Forest Survey of India, sustainable tiger population thriving in its forests as revealed by the tiger census and a range of legal regimes for conservation and protection of forests and ecology to buttress its arguments, sources privy to the development said.

Keralam would also argue that the Cardamom Hill Reserve in Idukki be excluded from the purview of the ESA and treated as a cultural landscape where human habitation has existed since the early 1930s. Several grama panchayats of Idukki, of which 23 villages come under ESA, opposed the classification and passed a resolution. The neighborhood has been the epicenter of public protests since the WGEEP report.

The state would also seek to exempt a number of activities from the red category industry classification that would be prohibited in the ESA. Pumping stations that are used to generate electricity, dairy units, incinerators and diesel generators with a capacity of 5 kV and above will also be excluded from the red category as they are essential for ESA residents to continue their lives, the state demands.

Published – 20 Sep 2026 20:40 IST