Western Ghats: fresh round of consultations recommended

Bangalore,  
The Hindu, May 4, 2014

Calling for “reconciliation” between the two fairly divergent and much-debated reports on the Western Ghats — the first by a panel headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil and second by a committee led by Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan — scientist R. Sukumar has said another round of consultations should pave the way to resolving the issue.

Talk held

Neither report had been accepted by Karnataka or Kerala, he said while speaking on ‘Western Ghats: confusion over conservation?’ here on Saturday.

Prof. Sukumar, who is a member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel headed by Prof. Gadgil, said that a fresh round of consultations “is the responsibility” of the Union and State governments. The talk was organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (Karnataka regional branch).

The Kasturirangan committee could have “refined” or “modified” the Gadgil report but instead “threw out our report and came up with an entirely new one”.

The major difference in the two reports was on the extent of ecologically sensitive area (ESA) that each recommended, Prof. Sukumar said.

While the Gadgil report sees the entire Western Ghats as ESA (under three levels of protection), the Kasturirangan report suggests 37 per cent of the total area be brought under ESA.