Kerala seeks a Western Ghats ESA confined to forest land at 8,590.69 sq km, against 9,993.7 sq km in the current draft, as a village-level cadastral map is readied
5 October 2026
Environment Minister Sunny Joseph has said Kerala wants the final Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area notification confined to forest land, with inhabited areas, farmland and plantations completely excluded.
The current draft notification puts Kerala's ESA at 9,993.7 sq km, made up of 9,107 sq km of forest area and 886.7 sq km of non-forest area, already down from the 13,108 sq km of the Kasturirangan report.
Kerala has now asked that the 886.7 sq km of non-forest area be excluded as well, has proposed an extent of 8,590.69 sq km, and has asked that the villages covered be reduced from 131 to 98.
A cadastral map showing ESA boundaries at village level has now been prepared and awaits government approval before publication; it can be searched by place name but does not carry survey numbers.
The revised proposal leaves out the Cardamom Hill Reserve, inhabited areas and plantation regions.
In plain words
ESA Ecologically Sensitive Area — An area notified by the Union environment ministry where certain activities are restricted to protect its ecology.
Cadastral map Cadastral map — A survey map that shows land parcels and boundaries village by village.
Kasturirangan report High Level Working Group on the Western Ghats — The 2013 report that recommended marking part of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
Cardamom Hill Reserve Cardamom Hill Reserve — A large tract of cardamom-growing hill land in Idukki district held under a special land tenure.