Raigad landslide brings back focus on Madhav Gadgil report

Subject : Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Concept :

A landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district last week claimed 27 lives, flattened an entire village, and brought back into focus the 2011 Dr Madhav Gadgil report on conservation of the Western Ghats.
During a discussion in the Maharashtra Assembly, state congress chief asked what had happened to the Madhav Gadgil Committee report on ecologically sensitive zones in the Western Ghats.

Madhav Gadgil Report

In 2010 a Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) was created which was chaired by ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil.
The commission submitted its report to the Centre in 2011.
The report recommended classifying 64 percent of the Western Ghats, spread over six states, into Ecologically Sensitive Zones called ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3.
It also recommended designating the entire region as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
Almost all developmental activities like mining, construction of thermal power plants, dams were to stop along with the decommissioning of similar projects that have completed their shelf life in ESZ 1.
It said that both the Athirappilly and Gundia hydel project sites should not be accorded environmental clearance as they fall in this zone.
Permissions and Prohibitions:
- Genetically modified crops should not be allowed,
- Use of plastic bags be prohibited,
- Special Economic Zones should not be permitted,
- New hill stations should not be allowed,
- Changing the land use from farmland to non-farm land and
- Stoppage of diversions of rivers to protect the ecology of the region,
- Public lands should not be converted into private lands.

Recommendations:

The report also suggested a bottom-to-top approach instead of a top-to-bottom approach in governance of the environment, indicating decentralization and more powers to local authorities.
It recommended the establishment of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as a professional body to manage the ecology of the region and to ensure its sustainable development.
A ban on growing single commercial crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber, banana and pineapple, which have led to fragmentation of forest, soil erosion, degradation of river ecosystems and toxic contamination of the environment.
A policy shift is urgently warranted curtailing the environmentally disastrous practices and switching over to a more sustainable farming approach in the Western Ghats.
Taking critical steps to involve citizens, including proactive and sympathetic implementation of the provisions of the Community Forest Resources of the Forest Rights Act.

Resistance to the Implementation of the WGEEP’s Recommendations:

Stakeholder states resisted the Gadgil panel recommendations amid fears of hindrance to development and loss of livelihood.
In particular, Kerala had objected to –
The proposed ban on sand mining and quarrying,
Restrictions on transport infrastructure and wind energy projects,
Embargos on hydroelectric projects and inter-basin transfer of river waters, and
The complete ban on new polluting industries.
In 2012, the Union Environment Ministry constituted a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats under former ISRO chief Dr K Kasturirangan, to formulate a report to replace WGEEP.

Recommendations of the Kasturirangan-led Panel:

It notified only 37% (against 64% by Gadgil commission) of the area as ecologically sensitive.
It also split the Western Ghats into cultural (human settlements) and natural (non-human settlements) region It was suggested that cultural lands be designated as an ESA.
It also consisted of red, orange and green categories.
The red list entailed a ban on mining, stone quarrying, thermal plans and certain construction and township projects.
The orange category had activities that would be regulated and taken up with appropriate permissions.
The green category allows all agricultural and horticultural activities and commercial activities.

Gadgil vs Kasturirangan Reports:

The WGEEP was a pro-nature, pro-people report based on sound scientific information and feedback from central and state governments, zila parishads, gram panchayats and people.
Gadgil criticised the Kasturirangan report as faulty and unscientific because local communities have no role in economic decisions, clearly in violation of constitutional provisions.

Actions Taken

In 2017, the Environment Ministry issued a draft notification, demarcating an area of 56,285 sq km in the Western Ghats as ESA as opposed to the 59,940 sq km recommended by the Kasturirangan committee.
By 2022, the Centre announced a high-powered committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to conduct physical landscaping and submit a detailed report in a year’s time.
Gadgil claimed that implementing its recommendations would have lessened the severity of the floods and landslides in Kerala in 2018.