Fewer villages, more reserve forests in ESA

THE final draft notification issued by the Union environment ministry on July 31 on declaration of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats shows that some of the states, including Tamil Nadu, have proposed to include more reserve forest areas in the ESA than 'highly vulnerable' non-forest private land holdings suggested by the Kasturirangan report.

- S V KRISHNA CHAITANYA

The reluctance by the state governments to leave private lands where extensive human settlements have come up over the years - off the hook may lead to change in land-use pattern in the already fragmented hilly regions in the future and may trigger more Wayanad-like disasters, experts said.