At 2,515 villages, Maharashtra’s eco-sensitive area up 17%; 333 hamlets in MMR

Mumbai: A total of 2,515 villages across 13 districts in Maharashtra have been included in the list of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) along the Western Ghats, according a draft notification published by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change. The list includes 333 villages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and villages in north, western and coastal Maharashtra.
The number of eco-sensitive villages in Maharashtra as per the earlier draft notification, published in 2022, was 2,133. This has now gone up by 382 and the applicable eco-sensitive area in the state has risen 17%.
The notification, published on July 31, moots a complete ban on mining, quarrying, and sand mining in these eco-sensitive areas, while existing mines would be phased out within five years. It also prohibits new thermal power projects and expansion of highly polluting industries in eco-sensitive area. The government has allotted a time span of 60 days to submit suggestions and objections to the draft.
Of total 56,825 square kilometres included under the Western Ghats ESA in six states, around 17,340 sqkm falls within Maharashtra. The 333 villages in MMR which have been included in the latest list are mostly located in tehsils like Shahapur, Murbad, Wada, Mokhada and Jawhar in Thane and Palghar districts.
The issue of notifying eco-sensitive areas in the Western Ghats has been hanging fire since 2011, when a committee headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil recommended that 75% of the 129,037 sq km area of Western Ghats be declared environmentally sensitive owing to the presence of dense forests and a large number of endemic species. Three years later, a second panel, headed by rocket scientist K Kasturirangan, scaled down the area to 50%, while a draft notification issued in 2018 further scaled down the area to 37%. But none of these notifications, including the one published in 2022, were finalised owing to objections from state governments. The latest draft was issued a day after a massive landslide rocked Wayanad district in Kearala, leading to the death of over 300 people.
As inclusion of villages in the MMR and other districts would affect the scope of construction, mining and other infrastructure projects, political leaders these areas are likely to oppose the draft notification.