New Delhi, May 21 (IANS): Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Thursday interacted with Chief Ministers, Cabinet ministers and government officers of six states on issues relating to a notification on Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) of Western Ghats.

Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were represented during the video conference.

The states wanted an early notification to enable them to protect the ecology and environment of Western Ghats.

The Central government had formed a working group under the chairmanship of Dr Kasturirangan for conserving and protecting the biodiversity of Western Ghats while allowing sustainable and inclusive development of the region.

The working group recommended that geographical areas falling in the six states could be identified and declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA). A draft notification was issued in October 2018 mentioning the areas to be notified in the ESA.

States were unanimous that there is a need to ensure protection of the western Ghats. It was decided that state-specific issues should be further deliberated so as to arrive at a consensus on the issue.