Kasturirangan report on western ghats: Assembly rejects Centre’s 7th draft

The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Centre’s latest proposal to declare 20,668 sq km of the Western Ghats an Ecologically Sensitive Area, asking the Union government to keep the notification on hold for a year while the state carries out physical surveys and addresses land and livelihood concerns.

The resolution, moved by chief minister D K Shivakumar during a three day special session on the Kasturirangan report, opposed the seventh draft ESA notification issued by the Centre on July 27, 2026, in its present form. The proposed area covers 1,449 villages in 10 districts of Karnataka.

Shivakumar said the state had attempted to understand concerns of residents before taking its position, including through visits to Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts. “The Western Ghats are a major natural asset of Karnataka and are vital to biodiversity and ecological balance. At the same time, the concerns of the people living in the region need to be addressed before the ESA notification is finalised,” he said.

The resolution said the proposed boundaries had been prepared using satellite data without a joint physical survey and without precise demarcation based on survey numbers.

“The inclusion of agricultural land, plantations, residential houses and public amenities along with forest areas would create problems relating to house construction, division of family properties and inheritance rights,” Shivakumar said.

The resolution said the draft also failed to adequately address pending issues involving Bagar Hukum claims, forest rights, deemed forests, land grants, appeals and cases before courts.

The Assembly also objected to the provision under which an entire village could be included in the ESA if one fifth of its area falls within forest limits. The resolution described the method as unscientific and said it had caused considerable discontent among residents.

Karnataka has asked Centre to restrict the ESA designation to notified forest areas and other actual forest land. Agricultural and horticultural land, plantations, human settlements and areas used for public activities should remain outside the proposed zone, the resolution said.

The state has also asked for existing issues concerning Bagar Hukum claims, forest rights, deemed forests, land grants, appeals and court cases to be taken into account before the final boundaries are determined.

The government plans to conduct physical measurements and identify forests, settlements, agricultural areas and ecologically sensitive zones separately on the basis of survey numbers.

A high level committee headed by a retired judge will oversee the exercise. Revenue and forest officials, representatives of farmers and industry, and forestry and environmental experts and scientists from academic institutions will be part of the panel.