Western Ghats conservation: Centre reissues draft for eco-sensitive zone
The Union Environment Ministry reissued a draft for an ecologically sensitive area (ESA) across the Western Ghats after the previous draft lapsed on 27 July 2026.
- ESA notifications restrict or regulate activities inside notified boundaries to protect fragile ecosystems.
- The Union Environment Ministry opens an ESA draft for public objections before considering a final notification.
- State governments and the Centre disagree on which Western Ghats villages and regions should fall in the ESA, affecting agriculture and development planning.
- A Madhav Gadgil-led panel in 2011 recommended graded protection for the entire Western Ghats, but objections followed.
What happened now: Union Environment Ministry reissued the Western Ghats ESA draft
The Union Environment Ministry reissued a draft notification proposing an ecologically sensitive area (ESA) across the Western Ghats for conservation purposes. The ministry’s renewed draft is its seventh draft notification in more than a decade.
The renewed draft is dated 27 July 2026. The ministry opened the proposal for public objections for 60 days. After the objection window closes, the Centre will consider a final notification.
UPSC can frame the issue as Centre–state coordination in environmental regulation. The Union Environment Ministry’s ESA notification process depends on resolving village-level inclusion disagreements with six Western Ghats states, while the draft itself proposes restrictions and regulation of specified industrial and construction activities within the ESA boundary.
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