The Western Ghats or the Sahyādri constitute a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty nine properties including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were designated as world heritage sites – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.

The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti river, and runs approximately 1,600 km (990 mi) through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.

These hills cover 160,000 km² (62,000 sq mi) and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

The area is one of the world’s ten “Hottest biodiversity hotspots” and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species; it is likely that many undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats. At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats lie roughly parallel
to the west coast of India

Annual rainfall along the Western Ghat region

Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, has rolled up his sleeves and slammed the Kasturirangan report.

Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats replaced the pro-people and pro-nature attitude of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report with an autocratic approach in terms of development and ecological conservation, said Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the panel.

Mr. Kasturirangan, in his report, wondered how local communities can have a role in the economic decision-making process of the country. The report had kept vast stretches of Western Ghats in the category cultural landscapes, which include human settlements, out of the purview of ecologically sensitive areas. The sacred groves of Kerala, which are rich in biodiversity, would come under the category. If the Kasturirangan report is accepted, any builder could raze the sacred groves and construct structures there, he said.

The panel chairman was in the town to deliver a lecture on protection of Western Ghats. The event was organised by the Indian Association of Lawyers (High Court Unit).

Mr. Gadgil said the panel report was completely distorted to give the impression that it recommended to halt all economic activities.

The report suggested that the Grama Sabhas should decide on the Ecological Sensitivity of the respective areas. People should decide in which ecologically sensitive zone their area should come under. The prerogative for deciding whether their area was to be considered even as a sensitive area was left to the people. The recommendation of the panel regarding the ecologically sensitive zones was just an indicator to start the debate, he said.

Environment history of the world would tell one that no country the in the world had ever initiated action on its own for ecological conservation. It came from people’s initiative. The thrust of the panel report was that people should be allowed to exercise appropriate powers for conservation, he said.

Referring to the decision of the Plachimada Panchayat to cancel the license for Coca Cola factory functioning in their area, Mr. Gadgil said the Supreme Court had upheld the right of the local body to take such a decision. People at grassroots levels really care for environment health as it is directly linked to their lives. People at the grassroots should be empowered to make appropriate decisions, he said.

The panel even recommended that people should be incentivised for conservation efforts like shifting to organic farming, Mr. Gadgil said.