Fighting over the Western Ghats
9 years, 7 months ago

Fighting over the Western Ghats

The Hindu  

Having completed the demarcation of Ecologically Sensitive Areas for the conservation of the Western Ghats, Kerala is in the spotlight for its efforts to balance environmental conservation with the development needs and livelihood aspirations of the people. On January 29, 2014, the Kerala Assembly witnessed noisy scenes after the Opposition demanded discussion on a motion alleging that farmers in 123 villages in the Western Ghats were facing the threat of an undeclared eviction by the government to prepare the ground for the recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee to be implemented in the State. Two days later, the House unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to exclude human settlements and agricultural land from the 123 villages identified as Ecologically Sensitive Areas by the Kasturirangan committee. The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, the people’s science movement in Kerala, feels that the decision to earmark only protected forests as ESA would be disastrous for the Western Ghats. “The protests were organised and political parties including the Congress and the CPI used the vitiated atmosphere to enhance their appeal and create vote banks, while the BJP government at the Centre merely paid lip service to conservation of the Western Ghats.” He feels that the situation could still be retrieved by mobilising public opinion for conservation, though he admits it is an uphill task.

Conservation Political Land Western State High Committee Esa Kasturirangan Vested Interests Oommen Ghats Kerala 123 Villages Only Protected Forests  esa  ghats  kerala  committee  high  political  conservation  state  western  fighting  land

History of this topic

Expert team to verify Kerala’s exclusion of certain areas from purview of ecologically sensitive areas
1 month ago

Expert team to verify Kerala’s exclusion of certain areas from purview of ecologically sensitive areas

The Hindu  

The demarcation of the ecologically sensitive areas in Kerala is once again back in focus with an expert committee of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change all set to seek explanations on a set of proposals put forward by the State. The exclusion of some parts of Poopara and Santhampara villages, which are already within the notified ecologically …

Wayanad disaster could have been avoided if panel report had been implemented, says Gadgil
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Wayanad disaster could have been avoided if panel report had been implemented, says Gadgil

The Hindu  

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has said that the recent man-made natural disaster in Wayanad could have been avoided if authorities had implemented his proposals for the conservation of the Western Ghats. Mr. Gadgil claimed that some attempts had been made to give an impression that his report contained unilateral observations. However, they were prepared after holding detailed discussions with village committees …

After 200 die, Wayanad may finally get green protection
7 months, 3 weeks ago

After 200 die, Wayanad may finally get green protection

Hindustan Times  

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 …

After Wayanad Tragedy, Centre Moves Draft to Declare 57,000 Sq Km of Western Ghats Eco-Sensitive
7 months, 3 weeks ago

After Wayanad Tragedy, Centre Moves Draft to Declare 57,000 Sq Km of Western Ghats Eco-Sensitive

News 18  

In the aftermath of the Wayanad tragedy, the Centre has issued a draft notification to declare around 57,000 square kilometer of Western Ghats as an ‘ecologically-sensitive area’. Centre issues draft notification to declare approximately 60,000 sq kms across 6 states, including Kerala, in western ghats as eco sensitive zonesNews18’s @AmanKayamHai_ explains the govt proposal @akankshaswarups | #NationAt5 #WayanadDisaster #Kerala pic.twitter.com/SGTvVO9Bjg …

Wayanad landslides: What was Madhav Gadgil-panel report which recommended no urbanisation on Western Ghats?
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Wayanad landslides: What was Madhav Gadgil-panel report which recommended no urbanisation on Western Ghats?

India TV News  

Wayanad landslides: As the devastating series of landslides hit Kerala's Wayanad district, claiming nearly 160 lives with the toll expected to rise as rescuers search through the debris, the 13-year-old Madhav Gadgil-panel report on Western Ghats is back in focus. The report has warned against activities such as indiscriminate quarrying and construction in Ecologically Sensitive Areas of the Western Ghats, …

More disasters can be expected in these areas, says top ecologist
7 months, 3 weeks ago

More disasters can be expected in these areas, says top ecologist

Hindustan Times  

Kerala’s Wayanad region can expect more such disasters in coming years in eco-sensitive areas identified by the Madhav Gadgil chaired Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel if a cautious approach is not taken on which activities can be permitted, the veteran ecologist said on Tuesday. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel has designated the entire Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive …

Kerala landslide: Eco-sensitive zones along Western Ghats yet to be notified despite panels’ reviews
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Kerala landslide: Eco-sensitive zones along Western Ghats yet to be notified despite panels’ reviews

Hindustan Times  

The eco-sensitive areas along the Western Ghats are yet to be notified by the Centre, 13 years since the first such demarcation was recommended by a panel led by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil in 2011. The committee, which was set up by the Centre to assess the environmental sensitivity of the Western Ghats and the possible impacts of the climate …

14 years after Gadgil report, Western Ghats eco-sensitive zones yet to be notified
7 months, 3 weeks ago

14 years after Gadgil report, Western Ghats eco-sensitive zones yet to be notified

Hindustan Times  

The Western Ghats ecologically sensitive areas are yet to be notified by the Union environment ministry, 14 years after the first such demarcation was recommended by ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s committee in 2011. On July 22, the Union environment ministry informed the Lok Sabha, “In order to protect the rich biodiversity of Western Ghats, this Ministry has issued draft Notification on …

Saving Lives in the Western Ghats: The Tragic Story of Irshalwadi and the Need to Preserve the Ecologically Sensitive Zone
1 year, 7 months ago

Saving Lives in the Western Ghats: The Tragic Story of Irshalwadi and the Need to Preserve the Ecologically Sensitive Zone

The Hindu  

Published : Aug 10, 2023 11:00 IST - 9 MINS READ Irshalwadi was a picturesque village at around 3,700 feet above sea level, deep inside the Sahyadri forest range near the famous Irshalgad Fort in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The Madhav Gadgil panel’s 2011 report recommended the classification of 64 per cent of the Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Zones and …

Western Ghats lost 5% evergreen forest cover, shows analysis
1 year, 8 months ago

Western Ghats lost 5% evergreen forest cover, shows analysis

The Hindu  

The Western Ghats, which is among 36 global biodiversity hotspots, saw a loss of 5% evergreen forest cover with an increase of 4.5% built-up cover, and 9% agriculture area, according to the spatiotemporal analyses of land use, highlighting anthropogenic induced developmental thrust. These revelations come from the Indian Institute of Science’s Energy and Wetlands Research Group launched the Western Ghats …

Supreme Court asks Environment Ministry to file counter-affidavit to plea by a minor to protect Western Ghats
2 years ago

Supreme Court asks Environment Ministry to file counter-affidavit to plea by a minor to protect Western Ghats

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Environment Ministry to file its counter-affidavit to a petition filed by a minor, M. Kaviya, who is a resident of Nilgiris, seeking judicial intervention to protect the Western Ghats from destruction. “Month by month, the Western Ghats is being chipped away… Please intervene,” senior advocate Raj Panjwani and advocate Shibani Ghosh, for Ms. …

Activists slam politicians’ opposition to Western Ghats ESA draft notification
2 years, 7 months ago

Activists slam politicians’ opposition to Western Ghats ESA draft notification

The Hindu  

The United Conservation Movement has termed the opposition to the draft notification of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghats by politicians and ministers in the State government as one with malafide intentions and said it goes against the interest of protecting the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. However, activities such as mining, new thermal power plants, highly polluting red …

Explained | The draft notification of ESA in Western Ghats and Karnataka’s stiff resistance to it
2 years, 7 months ago

Explained | The draft notification of ESA in Western Ghats and Karnataka’s stiff resistance to it

The Hindu  

Story so far: Early this month, on July 6, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change reissued the draft notification of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghats. Soon after, however, legislators and ministers from Karnataka’s Western Ghats area, cutting across party affiliations, took exception to the draft notification, calling it “unscientific” and arguing that it would adversely …

A call to protect Western Ghats
2 years, 8 months ago

A call to protect Western Ghats

Hindustan Times  

Older than the Himalayan range, the Western Ghats are among India’s many ecologically fragile regions that have recently become a battleground for the development vs environment debate. Even though the climate crisis necessitates that the Ghats be preserved, the deadline to finalise the draft notification to earmark ecologically sensitive areas of the six Ghats states has been extended for another …

Invasive species threatens wildlife habitats of Western Ghats
2 years, 11 months ago

Invasive species threatens wildlife habitats of Western Ghats

The Hindu  

The dearth of effective steps to arrest the rampant growth of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, is a matter of serious concern to the conservation of wildlife habitats of the Western Ghats. A recent study, organised by Ferns, a nature conservation society, in association with the …

United on exclusion: States insist on demarcating more area in the Western Ghats from 'ecologically sensitive' category
3 years, 3 months ago

United on exclusion: States insist on demarcating more area in the Western Ghats from 'ecologically sensitive' category

The Hindu  

T HE final notification to demarcate ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats, spread across six States—Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Gujarat—and prohibit eco-destructive projects and activities there has been pending for nearly eight years with many of the draft provisions enmeshed in controversies. Moreover, the State government took the view that “agricultural areas, orchards, horticultural plots, plantation …

Ecological ‘holocaust’: Women saving India’s Western Ghats forest
3 years, 4 months ago

Ecological ‘holocaust’: Women saving India’s Western Ghats forest

Al Jazeera  

As deforestation and climate change ravage India’s UNESCO heritage-listed Western Ghats mountain range, an all-female rainforest force is battling to protect one of the area’s last enclaves of biodiversity. The region is home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species but the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has ranked its outlook …

Western Ghats | Restless mountains, shattered lives
3 years, 5 months ago

Western Ghats | Restless mountains, shattered lives

The Hindu  

In his preface to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report submitted in 2011, ecologist and panel chairman Madhav Gadgil points to the degradation suffered by Kalidasa’s “charming maiden” thus: “Once the lady was adorned by a sari of rich green hues; today her mantle lies in shreds and tatters. Nearly a decade later, the reverberations of Mr. Gadgil’s warnings …

India’s Western Ghats: Fragile, and wounded
3 years, 5 months ago

India’s Western Ghats: Fragile, and wounded

Hindustan Times  

While in jail in 1942, the Gandhian economist JC Kumarappa wrote a book titled Economy of Permanence that articulates what has come to be called “sustainable development”, following the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm. If one were to use Kumarappa’s words, the wounds being inflicted on the Western Ghats today are a display of an economy …

‘Need to preserve Western Ghats’
5 years, 4 months ago

‘Need to preserve Western Ghats’

Hindustan Times  

With the Western Ghats traversing Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, 11% of the carbon emissions from these six states, and 1.62% of India’s total emissions are sequestered by the forests in this green zone. HT Image The study ‘Carbon Sequestration Potential of the Forest Ecosystems in the Western Ghats, a Global Biodiversity Hotspot’ was published last week …

India needs to stop deforesting its mountains if it wants to start fighting floods
5 years, 6 months ago

India needs to stop deforesting its mountains if it wants to start fighting floods

Firstpost  

They are an annual nightmare in many parts, areas that were not considered a risk, are flood-prone, Floods are now an annual nightmare in many parts of southern and western India. Yet recurring floods and landslides in the mountains, hills and areas downstream show that India must rethink its environmental law to balance the needs of nature and humans. How …

A bottom-up approach to conservation
5 years, 7 months ago

A bottom-up approach to conservation

The Hindu  

In 2018, many people thought that the floods and landslides in Kerala that caused huge financial losses and manifold human tragedies marked a once-in-a-century calamity, and that normalcy will return soon and we can merrily return to business as usual. The Kerala High Court had ruled in favour of Plachimada Panchayat that cancelled Coca-Cola’s licence because the company polluted and …

Congress and JD(S) led Karnataka govt turns down Centre’s proposal to declare western ghats eco-sensitive area
6 years, 6 months ago

Congress and JD(S) led Karnataka govt turns down Centre’s proposal to declare western ghats eco-sensitive area

Op India  

The Congress and JD led Karnataka government on Wednesday rejected the recommendations by the Kasturirangan committee under the Union environment ministry on declaring the Western Ghats region an eco-sensitive zone. The Union ministry will soon be issuing the second draft notification declaring the Western Ghats ESA, after a similar draft expired in 2014, due to the lack of consensus between …

India’s ecological hotspots are on a slow-ticking time bomb
6 years, 6 months ago

India’s ecological hotspots are on a slow-ticking time bomb

Live Mint  

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Every large-scale tragedy in India has often left behind more questions than answers. Photo: Supriya Aggarwal The 2011 report by The Western Ghats Ecology Panel, headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, described the Western Ghats as the “water tower” of peninsular India; a biodiversity treasure trove; and the backbone of south India’s ecology and economy. “In the Western Ghats, …

Kerala floods and their far-reaching impact: Nature offers small reminders when its limits are crossed by man
6 years, 7 months ago

Kerala floods and their far-reaching impact: Nature offers small reminders when its limits are crossed by man

Firstpost  

While it’s true that Kerala has received unprecedented rainfall this year causing water levels to rise abnormally and dams to overflow, many are blaming the floods on man-made mistakes which have destroyed the ecological balance. The protesters of 2011 will now be repenting their mistakes in the aftermath of the flood that has taken over 400 lives and has likely …

Kerala, After The Flood: Tendency to back development despite warning from ecologists creates ground for future disasters
6 years, 7 months ago

Kerala, After The Flood: Tendency to back development despite warning from ecologists creates ground for future disasters

Firstpost  

What is important is that ecologists and environmentalists have to work in tandem with the government departments to achieve success on the ground. The WGEEP recommended no new dams be built in the ecologically sensitive zones; that no environment clearance be accorded to hydel projects falling in the zones; a moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining; and also suggested …

Goa may suffer just like Kerala, warns noted ecologist
6 years, 7 months ago

Goa may suffer just like Kerala, warns noted ecologist

Deccan Chronicle  

Panaji: Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has warned that Goa may face the same fate as the flood-battered Kerala if it does not take environmental precautions. Goa, of course, does not have Western Ghats which are so high as in Kerala, but I am sure Goa will also experience all sorts of problems," he said, reacting to the worst-ever floods in …

Kerala: Ghats conservation bid to go global
7 years, 1 month ago

Kerala: Ghats conservation bid to go global

Deccan Chronicle  

Kochi: Environmental activists in the state under the banner of ‘Save Western Ghats Movement’ are set to take up the issue of western ghats conservation on the global arena. A meeting held in Kochi on Friday to discuss a three-day programme to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic ‘Save Western Ghats March’ decided to take up the issue at …

Kerala drought: Preservation of Western Ghats key to prevent water crisis in the long run
7 years, 10 months ago

Kerala drought: Preservation of Western Ghats key to prevent water crisis in the long run

Firstpost  

The rain god has spurned Kerala, endowed with 44 rivers and many backwaters, but the disaster is as much to do with nature as with humans. Two expert committee reports aimed at saving the fragile ecology of Western Ghats, Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan, are gathering dust but the government dreads to touch them fearing the wrath of people living in …

56825 sq km of Western Ghats declared ecologically sensitive
11 years ago

56825 sq km of Western Ghats declared ecologically sensitive

India TV News  

New Delhi: Environment Ministry today issued a draft notification on Western Ghats declaring an area of 56,825 sq km of the hills as ecologically sensitive. In its report, a High Level Working Group headed by K Kasturirangan had identified approximately 37 per cent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive which covers an area of 59,940 sq km of natural …

Kerala rules out compromise on Western Ghats report
11 years ago

Kerala rules out compromise on Western Ghats report

The Hindu  

With the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats conservation becoming a poll issue in the state, the Congress-led UDF government on Tuesday demanded that the state’s suggestions for changes in the report should be accepted by the Centre. Addressing a press meet after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said people-inhabited areas, agriculture land and plantation areas have to be …

My report on Western Ghats being misinterpreted, says Gadgil
11 years, 1 month ago

My report on Western Ghats being misinterpreted, says Gadgil

The Hindu  

The report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, which was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2011, continues to be misinterpreted by political parties and governments in Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra, ecologist Madhav Gadgil has said. Mr. Gadgil said at a State-level convention on ‘Save the Western Ghats’ here on Sunday that although he had …

No change in ban on mining, power projects in Western Ghats
11 years, 1 month ago

No change in ban on mining, power projects in Western Ghats

The Hindu  

Orders imposing restriction on new mining, thermal power and other polluting industries in the designated Western Ghats area continue to stand, Environment and Forests Minister Veerappa Moily told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Answering a slew of questions, he said the Ministry had issued directions under Section 5 of the Environment Act, 1986 “with a view to providing immediate protection …

No Central panel to study Western Ghats: Moily
11 years, 2 months ago

No Central panel to study Western Ghats: Moily

Firstpost  

Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily said the states concerned should appoint committees respectively to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. New Delhi: After a row over implementation of a expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panel to study Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the …

Western Ghats forum seeks quashing of Environment Ministry notification
11 years, 2 months ago

Western Ghats forum seeks quashing of Environment Ministry notification

The Hindu  

Western Ghats People’s Protection Forum has approached the National Green Tribunal here seeking to quash the recent notification of Union Ministry of Environment of Forests to implement suggestions of the Kasturirangan panel on Western Ghats conservation. Last April, the High Level Working Group on Western Ghats headed by Dr.Kasturirangan, submitted its report with several suggestions and restrictions in order to …

Western Ghats protection draft notification coming soon
11 years, 3 months ago

Western Ghats protection draft notification coming soon

The Hindu  

The Union Environment Ministry took another step towards implementing the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats by kick-starting the process of draft notification for Ecologically Sensitive Areas in six States. But, keeping the protests in Kerala in mind, it made explicitly clear that plantations, agriculture and other routine activities in the ESA declared under the Environment Protection Act, 1972 would not …

Compensation likely for farmers in Western Ghats
11 years, 3 months ago

Compensation likely for farmers in Western Ghats

The Hindu  

The expert panel set up by the government to formulate Kerala’s response to the report of the Kasturirangan committee on the conservation of the Western Ghats is considering an economic compensation programme to protect the interests of farmers in the villages named Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Official sources said the panel had discussed a series of economic incentives initially mooted by …

Committee completes hearing on Ghats report
11 years, 3 months ago

Committee completes hearing on Ghats report

The Hindu  

The three-member expert committee constituted by the government to take evidence from the public on the K. Kasturirangan panel’s recommendations for protecting the Western Ghats will submit its report within 10 days. A final report, based on the committee’s findings during the hearings and culled from over 9,000 memoranda submitted by individuals, NGOs, schools, public representatives, farmers’ organisations and so …

Unsettling report
11 years, 3 months ago

Unsettling report

The Hindu  

"Once the lady was adorned by a sari of rich green hues; today her mantle lies in shreds and tatters. THE office memorandum issued by the MoEF on November 16 accepting “in principle” the report of the High Level Working Group led by Dr K. Kasturirangan—the second such body constituted within a year by the Central government to make recommendations …

Debates on conservation, a welcome spin-off of Western Ghats reports
11 years, 3 months ago

Debates on conservation, a welcome spin-off of Western Ghats reports

The Hindu  

Though their recommendations may be matters of contention, both the Madhav Gadgil and the K. Kasturirangan reports have initiated lively and important debates on the need to protect the Western Ghats, participants of a discussion on the reports have said. The discussion on the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports on protection of the Western Ghats was organised by the Clinical Justice …

Implement Gadgil panel report in toto: eco group
11 years, 4 months ago

Implement Gadgil panel report in toto: eco group

The Hindu  

The Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi, a leading environmental organisation here, has said that undiluted implementation of the Gadgil committee report is the only solution for the protection of the Western Ghats. The Samithi leaders, in a press meet here on Friday, urged the State government to reject the K. Kasturirangan committee report completely and stall the public hearing by the State-level …

Kerala govt to convene all-party meet to discuss Western Ghats report
11 years, 4 months ago

Kerala govt to convene all-party meet to discuss Western Ghats report

Firstpost  

With protests continuing in the hill ranges over Centre’s move to implement key recommendations of the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats conservation, Kerala government on Wednesday decided to convene an all-party meeting to arrive at a consensus on the matter. Thiruvananthapuram: With protests continuing in the hill ranges over Centre’s move to implement key recommendations of the Kasturirangan report on …

Kasturirangan report will spell disaster, warn ecologists
11 years, 4 months ago

Kasturirangan report will spell disaster, warn ecologists

The Hindu  

The Kasturirangan report has thrown open the ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats to mindless exploitation which would seriously hazard ecology, according to its critics. While the WGEEP report wanted illegal mining and quarrying to be stopped immediately in the ghats, the Kasturirangan Committee permitted mining and quarrying in 63 per cent area. When it comes to Kerala, only 15 …

Amid dissent, a voice for Ghats
11 years, 4 months ago

Amid dissent, a voice for Ghats

The Hindu  

A ‘Save Western Ghats’ movement is taking shape in the State in the wake of fierce opposition to the proposals for protecting the ecosystem of the mountain range. Ms. Sugathakumari, who led the ‘Save Silent Valley’ campaign in the late 70s, said that time was ripe for a similar movement in the State as a section of the church and …

States asked to stop development activities in Western Ghats
11 years, 4 months ago

States asked to stop development activities in Western Ghats

The Hindu  

Environment Ministry has issued directions to six state governments prohibiting development activities including mining and quarrying in the 60,000 sq km ecologically sensitive area of Western Ghats. The ministry’s direction came weeks after it gave approval to a controversial report on Western Ghats prepared by the K Kasturirangan-led panel which recommended prohibition on development activities in 37 per cent of …

Gadgil report not mandatory for giving clearance in W Ghats: NGT
11 years, 4 months ago

Gadgil report not mandatory for giving clearance in W Ghats: NGT

Firstpost  

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday said that it is no longer mandatory for the environment ministry to refer to Gadgil panel’s report while deciding applications for clearance for projects in permissible areas of the western ghats. New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday said that it is no longer mandatory for the environment ministry to refer to Gadgil …

Western Ghats: panel to visit Idukki, Wayanad
11 years, 4 months ago

Western Ghats: panel to visit Idukki, Wayanad

The Hindu  

The expert committee constituted by the government to formulate the State’s response to the Kasturirangan committee’s recommendations for the protection of the Western Ghats has decided to hold consultations with various stakeholders in Idukki and Wayanad districts. At its first meeting here on Friday, the expert committee, including Oommen V.Oommen, chairman, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, V.N. Syriac, former chairman, Rubber …

Gadgil slams Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats
11 years, 4 months ago

Gadgil slams Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats

The Hindu  

Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, has rolled up his sleeves and slammed the Kasturirangan report. Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats replaced the pro-people and pro-nature attitude of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report with an autocratic approach in terms of development and ecological conservation, said Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the panel. The report had …

'Fragile Western Ghats prone to disaster if conservation delayed'
11 years, 4 months ago

'Fragile Western Ghats prone to disaster if conservation delayed'

Firstpost  

The extremely fragile Western Ghats region is highly prone to natural calamities and chances of an Uttarakhand-like tragedy in the region cannot be ruled out if scientific conservation initiatives are not being implemented at the earliest, says a leading environmentalist. According to Prof VS Vijayan, former chairman of the state Biodiversity Board, also a member of Gadgil committee, said commercial …

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