Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji
Panaji, Jul 29: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has retained 108 villages in Goa under the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) of the Western Ghats in its seventh draft notification, disregarding the Goa government's recommendation to limit the coverage to 87 villages.
The draft notification, issued on Tuesday, grants a fresh 60-day period to the six Western Ghats states—Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu—to submit objections and suggestions before the Centre finalises the notification.
The Ministry has retained the proposed ESA coverage in Goa at 1,461 sq km, covering 108 villages. However, it stated that the final notified area would be determined after considering recommendations from state governments, stakeholders and the ESA Expert Committee.
According to the notification, the proposed ESA in Goa includes 63 villages in Sattari, 26 in Sanguem, 13 in Dharbandora, five in Canacona and one in Ponda.
The Ministry also clarified that the notification would remain subject to the outcome of pending court cases and that the declaration of ESA would not affect ownership rights of properties located within the notified area.
The latest draft comes despite the Goa government's objections to the previous notification issued in August 2024, which had also proposed 108 villages. The state had urged the Centre to exclude 21 villages—12 from Sattari, five from Dharbandora, three from Sanguem and one from Canacona—arguing that only 87 villages met the criteria laid down by the Ministry.
Following the state's objections, an expert committee constituted by the MoEF&CC visited Goa in November 2024 to conduct field inspections and hold consultations with government officials and stakeholders.
The Goa government had expressed concerns that the proposed ESA status could restrict the extraction of minor minerals, affecting the livelihoods of local communities and increasing the state's dependence on neighbouring states for such resources.
Ecologically Sensitive Areas are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to safeguard environmentally fragile regions by regulating activities that could harm the ecosystem.
Under the proposed notification, new mining and quarrying projects, thermal power plants, highly polluting red-category industries and large construction projects with a built-up area of 20,000 square metres or more would either be prohibited or subjected to strict environmental scrutiny within the notified areas.
The draft places the responsibility for implementation and enforcement on the respective state governments, directing them to strengthen regulatory mechanisms, ensure local community participation in decision-making and submit details of enforcement measures to the Union Ministry.
It also mandates annual inspections of all projects operating within the ESA by the respective State Pollution Control Boards and requires state governments to publish an annual "State of Health Report" detailing compliance, monitoring and enforcement measures across the Western Ghats' eco-sensitive regions.