New Delhi: Two days after the deadly disaster in Wayanad, the Union Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change issued the sixth draft notification declaring 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats, including 13 villages that have been hit by landslides in Kerala, as an ecologically sensitive area (EZA).
The new draft notification was issued on 31 July, a month after the earlier notification expired. It proposed a “ban on activities including mining and quarrying, with the existing mines to be phased out within five years from the date of the final notification or on the expiry of the current mining lease, whichever is earlier”. Developmental activities, except repair and renovations of existing structures, will also prohibited, it said.
Kerala is witnessing one of the worst natural calamities in the state since the 2018-19 floods that claimed more than 400 lives.
The Western Ghats is a 1,500-km long landform that extends from the Tapti River to Kanyakumari with an average elevation of more than 600 metres. It covers six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Centre has already issued five notifications to declare the Western Ghats an ecologically sensitive zone since 2014, the latest being issued on 6 June 2022. This notification, however, expired on 30 June this year with no concrete order to protect the terrain from human-induced environmental degradation.
The Western Ghats is the second most landslide-prone region in the country after the Himalayas, according to government studies.
Landslides, triggered by heavy rainfall in Kerala’s Wayanad district, have claimed at least 308 lives, according to health minister Veena George, in the state.
On Thursday, the state disaster management authority issued a notification barring scientists and research institutes from visiting the landslide-affected areas and sharing studies and opinions with the media.
After criticism for the order, the Chief Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that the chief secretary has been asked to intervene in the matter and withdraw it.
The Centre’s notification proposed the declaration of 9,993.7 sq km in Kerala, which includes the 13 villages in two talukas of the landslide-hit Wayanad district, 449 sq km in Gujarat, 17,340 sq km in Maharashtra, 1,461 sq km in Goa, 20,668 sq km in Karnataka, and 6,914 sq km in Tamil Nadu, as an ecologically sensitive area. The government has invited suggestions and objections to the notification within 60 days.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also read: Kerala bars scientists from assessing landslide-hit Wayanad, sharing findings with media