After 200 die, Wayanad may finally get green protection

The Union environment ministry has issued a draft notification to declare the Western Ghats an ecologically sensitive area, including villages in Wayanad, where a devastating series of landslides on July 30 killed at least 210 people, with hundreds more still missing. The proposal for the ESA classification covers six states and 59,940 square kilometres of the Western Ghats -- or roughly 37% of the range -- was circulated as a draft notification dated July 31 and shared on Friday. The draft, now renewed for a sixth time, states: “All new and expansion projects of building and construction with built-up area of 20,000 square metres and above, and all new and expansion townships and area development projects with an area of 50 hectares and above or with built-up area of 150,000 square metres and above shall be prohibited.” Additionally, hydropower projects and less polluting industries would be regulated, and a monitoring mechanism would be established. As the draft notification now stands, it is up to the Western Ghats state governments — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — to accept or reject the proposal.