PANAJI
More than a decade after the process to declare Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats began, the Centre is expected to issue the final notification for ESA areas in Goa by next month. Goa is likely to be included in the first phase along with Gujarat and Maharashtra, after differences with these states were resolved.
Sources said the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has reached broad agreement with the Goa government on the extent of areas to be brought under the ESA regime.
Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra are understood to be closest to a settlement, while Kerala and Karnataka still have reservations over the extent of land proposed for ESA status and the restrictions that would follow. Tamil Nadu also has a few unresolved issues.
In its draft notification issued in August 2024, the Centre proposed notifying 108 villages in Goa as ESA. However, the Goa government recommended that 21 villages be removed from the list, saying only 87 villages met the Ministry’s criteria for ESA classification.
The villages proposed for exclusion include 12 in Sattari taluka, five in Dharbandora, three in Sanguem and one in Canacona.
Until now, the Centre has issued draft ESA notifications for all six Western Ghats states simultaneously. The first draft was issued in 2014 and has been revised five times, but disagreements with states over the areas to be included repeatedly delayed the process.
An expert committee appointed by the MoEF&CC visited Goa in November 2024 for field verification and discussions with the state government. During these meetings, the state raised concerns about local communities depending on minor minerals, arguing that ESA status could restrict extraction activities, affect livelihoods and make Goa dependent on other states for its supply of minor minerals.
Ecologically Sensitive Areas are regions identified for special environmental protection under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The aim is to regulate activities that could harm fragile ecosystems rather than stop all economic activity.
Once notified, ESAs will face strict limits on activities such as new mining and quarrying projects, thermal power plants, highly polluting red-category industries and large construction projects with a built-up area of 20,000 square metres or more. These activities will either be banned or subjected to stricter environmental scrutiny.
