Madhav Gadgil Report on Conserving the Western Ghats

Context:  A landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district has once again brought attention to the Dr. Madhav Gadgil report on conserving the Western Ghats. About Gadgil Commission: 

• In 2010, the Ministry of Environment appointed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), to be chaired by ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil.
• Aim: To study the impact of population pressure, climate change and development activities on the Western Ghats.

About Western Ghats: The Western Ghats is a 1,600-km-long mountain chain running along India’s western coast. UNESCO has accorded the Western Ghats World Heritage status. It spans six Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. The Ghats are home to 325 globally threatened species of flora, fauna, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. Karnataka contains about 60 percent of the entire Western Ghats.

 Recommendations of the Dr. Madhav Gadgil report on the Western Ghats:

• Classification of Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs): The report proposed classifying 64 percent of the Western Ghats, spread over six states, into three categories – ESZ 1, ESZ 2, and ESZ 3.
• Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA): The entire Western Ghats region was recommended to be designated as an Ecologically Sensitive Area.
• Developmental Activities: The report called for a halt to almost all developmental activities like mining, construction of thermal power plants, and dams in ESZ 1. 
• Bans and Restrictions: Genetically modified crops, plastic bags, Special Economic Zones, new hill stations, and changes in land use from farmland to non-farm land were to be prohibited.
  • The diversion of rivers to protect the ecology of the region and conversion of public lands into private lands were also discouraged.
• Bottom-to-Top Governance: The report suggested a decentralized approach to governance with more power given to local authorities.
  • It recommended the establishment of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to manage the region’s ecology and ensure sustainable development.
• Ban on Single Commercial Crops: The report called for a ban on growing single commercial crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber, banana, and pineapple in the Western Ghats, as they had negative environmental impacts.

The Kasturirangan-led panel formulated a report as an alternative to the Gadgil Reports: Key suggestions of the Kasturirangan panel report:

• Reduced Ecologically Sensitive Area: It has designated only 37 percent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, which was significantly lower than the 64 percent suggested by the Gadgil panel.
• Categorization of Regions: The panel split the Western Ghats into two categories – cultural regions (human settlements) and natural regions (non-human settlements). 
  • It proposed designating cultural lands as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
• Categorization of Activities: The report introduced a classification of activities into three categories – red, orange, and green.
  • Red Category: Activities, such as mining, stone quarrying, were recommended to be banned.
  • Orange Category: Activities would be regulated and allowed with appropriate permissions.
  • Green Category: All agricultural, horticultural, and certain commercial activities were allowed.

About Landslide: A sudden movement of rock, boulders, earth or debris down a slope is termed as a landslide. Natural causes that trigger it include heavy rainfall, earthquakes, snow melting and undercutting of slopes due to flooding. Landslide Prone Regions of India: India is one of the top five landslide-prone countries globally, with at least one death per 100 sq km annually due to landslides. Excluding snow covered areas, around 12.6 % of India’s geographical land area is prone to landslides. 66.5 % of the landslides are reported from the North-western Himalayas, 18.8 % from the North-eastern Himalayas, and 14.7 % from the Western Ghats. Source: NDMA

 News Source: The Indian Express