Karnataka government to file objections on Kasturirangan report draft notification

BENGALURU: The Karnataka administration has reiterated its opposition to the Dr K Kasturirangan Committee recommendations on declaring parts of the Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs).

Key points

• A total of 1, 449 villages in 39 taluks of these districts have been included under the scope of Eco-Sensitive Area, he remarked.
• Of this, 20, 668sqkm area is in Karnataka, he explained.
• Objections or suggestions of state governments are to be submitted within 60 days from the date of the draft notification.
• Based on the committee report, the MoEFCC had earlier issued draft notifications for declaring the Western Ghats region as an ESA.

After six earlier draft notifications lapsed, in the assembly on Thursday, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy, replying to legislators AS Ponnanna and HD Thammanna on the interests of farmers, remarked the administration will file its objections with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) which issued the seventh draft notification on July 27, 2026.

"Objections or suggestions of state governments are to be submitted within 60 days from the date of the draft notification. We still have one month to do so, " he remarked.

As more than 1, 000 villages in the state are covered under the draft notification declaring the Western Ghats as an ESA and buffer zone, he remarked, the state rejected the report to alleviate distress caused to farmers and the public.

In practice, the High Level Working Group headed by Dr K Kasturirangan, constituted by the Administration of India to suggest measures for conservation of the Western Ghats, submitted a report in 2013, in which an estimated 56, 000sqkm of area in six states was recommended as ESAs. Of this, 20, 668sqkm area is in Karnataka, he explained.

Based on the committee report, the MoEFCC had earlier issued draft notifications for declaring the Western Ghats region as an ESA. Due to the inability to finalize draft notifications in time, the first six draft notifications expired and the present Central administration has re-issued the seventh draft notification, he elaborated. The notifications regulate mining, quarrying, sand mining, thermal power plants, construction and township (beyond specified limits) developments, he continued.

Like the previous draft notifications, an area of 20, 668sqkm throughout 10 districts in Karnataka were identified for declaration as an ESA — Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Udupi. A total of 1, 449 villages in 39 taluks of these districts have been included under the scope of Eco-Sensitive Area, he remarked.

Taken together, the developments around karnataka government to file objections on Kasturirangan report draft notification point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.