MoEF panel to review Western Ghats report

However,the ministry remains tight-lipped on whether and how many of the recommendations of the WGEEP will be accepted.

Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said,“I want to preserve the Western Ghats. We need wider consultation with the six states,need to speak to experts as this is a complex issue which cannot be unilaterally decided. Thus,I have set up the High Level Working Group and now let’s see.” The MoEF had convened the WGEEP in March 2010 to assess the ecology of the Western Ghats,a global biodiversity hotspot rich in flora and fauna and home to many endemic species,and demarcate areas to be marked ecologically sensitive.

The panel,under the chairmanship of Madhav Gagdil,recommended the entire Western Ghats to be declared ecologically sensitive and completely ban mining in 60 per cent of the area by 2016 and recommended not permitting any new mines in 15 per cent more areas,among other suggestions. Although the report was submitted to the ministry in August 2011,it was not made public until a CIC order forced the ministry to do so on May 23.

According to the terms of reference,the High Level Working Group will assess the WGEEP report,considering various aspects such as sustainable and equitable economic and social growth of the region with an emphasis on conserving its rich biodiversity and flora fauna and to minimise further degradation of the same. It will take into account the rights and development needs of the local people,effects of climate change on the region and implications of the UNESCO heritage status given to some parts of the Western Ghats.