Keralam Urges Centre to Cap Western Ghats ESA at 8,590.69 sq km

Keralam has formally urged the Centre to confine the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in its Western Ghats region to forest land spanning 8,590.69 sq km, scaling it down from the 9,993.7 sq km proposed in the latest draft notification.

The State's recommendations were placed before the Centre on Thursday by M.G. Rajamanickam, Special Secretary in the Department of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Keralam government. Minister for Electricity and Environment Sunny Joseph disclosed the submission in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, the day the window for sending in recommendations closed.

Under the State's proposal, the number of villages covered by the ESA would fall from 131 to 98. The villages sought to be excluded are 23 in Idukki district, four in Kottayam, two in Thiruvananthapuram and one each in Wayanad and Palakkad.

"Our stand is that populated areas, farmlands and plantations should be excluded in their entirety and the ESA limited to forest regions," Mr. Joseph said. The Congress-led UDF government also plans to move a resolution in the State Legislative Assembly, when it next convenes, seeking to restrict the ESA to forest areas.

The Minister said Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan would lead a delegation to New Delhi if required to press the State's case. Keralam is seeking a final notification from the Centre, he added, noting that the notifications issued between 2014 and July 2026 have all remained in draft form.

Mr. Joseph described the recommendations as capable of resolving the issues surrounding the ESA. The proposals were drawn up after the government examined suggestions and objections from stakeholders, including farmer organisations, elected representatives, individuals and local bodies, he said.

He characterised Keralam's situation as unique, citing its small geographical size alongside a dense population and forest cover amounting to 29.15% of its total area. Limiting the ESA to forests, he argued, was necessary because adding another layer of regulation to the existing stringent laws protecting forests, the environment, paddy lands and wetlands could hurt the State's development, agriculture and the daily life of its people.

In 2013, the K. Kasturirangan Committee had recommended an ESA of 13,108 sq km covering 123 villages in their entirety, a proposal that triggered widespread protests. A study by the Oommen V. Oommen committee followed, after which the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a draft notification reducing the area to 9,993.7 sq km — 9,107 sq km of forest and 886.7 sq km of non-forest land. The number of villages later rose to 131 owing to bifurcation, though the total area stayed unchanged.

Keralam subsequently sought to bring the figure down to 8,590.69 sq km by excluding populated areas, farmlands and plantations, but the seventh draft published by the Ministry on July 27, 2026, did not accept the revision.