Even as the Union government has appointed a five-member committee to revise the Eco Sensitive Area (ESA) notification for the Western Ghats in six states, Karnataka has decided to oppose the notification in its entirety by citing the lack of compensation from the Centre, a recommendation of the Kasturirangan Committee report.
Under pressure from the National Green Tribunal, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in June issued the draft notification for the third time, declaring as ESA 56,825 sqkm spread across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa.
While the political reasons were apparent in Karnataka’s opposition to the draft notification, senior officials said the government’s demand for complete withdrawal of the notification is rooted in policy.
“In the ESA notification, the Centre is forthright on restricting economic activities in the ghats but there is a deafening silence on a key aspect of the Kastrurirangan report: compensating states for removing large areas from economic activities. The six states should get at least Rs 2,000 crore every year which could be divided among them based on the extent of ESA in their jurisdiction,” an official said.
The Kasturirangan report had underscored the recommendation of the 13th Finance Commission, which had batted for a compensation of Rs 5,000 crore to the states for maintaining forests. Further, the report sought computation of hydrological service provided by the Ghats. These measures, the official noted, will also help in paying for the well-being of the local communities.
This position has already been communicated to the Centre in writing. “By agreeing to ESA, Karnataka will remove about 11% of its total geographical area from major economic activities. We don’t have second thoughts on conservation. However, we want to be compensated for protecting the resource-rich area,” he said.
The MoEF has bought time from the NGT by setting up a five-member committee, headed by former Director General of Forests, MOEF, Sanjay Kumar, to look into the suggestions and objections by the states. Karnataka is set to raise the issue of compensation before the committee, which is expected to deliver its report by the end of April 2023.
At the all-party meeting convened in the wake of the draft notification, it was noted that the southern states of India will be bearing the burden of India’s forest cover targets.
Considering that Karnataka has one third of the ESA, it was felt that the Centre cannot overlook the compensation part when it cites the Kasturirangan report to protect the forests.