Western Ghats ESA: Keralam submits recommendation to Centre, seeks restriction of area to 8,590 km2
A view of water flowing down from the Wagamon hills in Kerala after recent heavy rains. The region falls under Teekoy village in Kottayam, which is an area that comes under the draft notification of ESA | Photo credit: VISHNU PRATHAP
Keralam has urged the Center to limit the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) in its Western Ghats region to forest area of 8,590.69 km2.
MG Rajamanickam, special secretary for environment and climate change, on Thursday (September 24, 2026) formally submitted the state’s recommendations and proposals to the Center on behalf of the Kerala government, Electricity and Environment Minister Sunny Joseph said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (September 25).
The deadline for submission of recommendations ends on Friday.
Mr. Joseph said the Congress-led UDF government also intends to get a resolution seeking the restriction of ESA on forest areas passed by the State Legislative Assembly when it convenes next. “Our position is that inhabited areas, agricultural land and plantations should be excluded as a whole and the ESA limited to forest areas,” Mr Joseph said.
The state government sought to restore the ESA from 9,993.7 km2 to 8,590.69 km2 and the number of villages from 131 and 98. The excluded villages include 23 in Idukki district, four in Kottayam, two in Thiruvananthapuram and one each in Wayanad and Palakkad.
Final notification is required
If necessary, Chief Minister VD Satheesan will lead a delegation to New Delhi to push the state’s case in this regard, the minister said, adding that Keralam is seeking a final notification from the Center as all the multiple notifications issued from 2014 to July 2026 were all drafts.
Mr Joseph described the State Government’s recommendations as capable of resolving ESA-related issues. The government made its recommendations after examining the suggestions and objections raised by stakeholders, including farmers’ organizations, elected representatives, individuals and local bodies, he said.
A “unique” case
Keralam’s case was “unique” due to its small size but dense population and large forest cover (29.15% of total area), he said. The state urged the Center to restrict the ESA to forests as adding another law or condition to the existing strict laws to protect forests and environment and paddy fields and wetlands could adversely affect the state’s development, agriculture and people’s daily lives, the minister added.
In 2013, the K. Kasturirangan committee recommended fixing ESAs of 13,108 km2 covering 123 villages across the state. This sparked widespread protests. Based on the study by the Oommen V. Oommen Committee, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a draft notification which reduced the area to 9,993.7 km2. Of this, 9,107 km2 was considered as forest area and 886.7 km2 as non-forest area. Although the number of villages subsequently increased to 131 as a result of bifurcation, the total area was not taxed.
Although Keralam subsequently sought to limit the area to 8,590.69 km2 by excluding inhabited areas, agricultural land and plantations, the seventh proposal released by the ministry on 27 July 2026 did not accept this change.
Published – 25 Sep 2026 13:59 IST