Kerala submitted a revised proposal to designate 8,590.69 sq. km across 98 villages in 29 taluks, spread over 12 districts, as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). This revision was based on suggestions verified by the Local Self Government Department and was submitted on November 2.
Initially, a High-Level Working Group chaired by K. Kasturirangan identified 13,108 sq. km in Kerala to be declared as ESA. In December 2013, the Union government sought feedback from state governments on modifying ESA boundaries based on physical verification. A three-member committee formed by the Kerala government, led by Dr Oommen V. Oommen, recommended 9,993.7 sq. km across 123 villages as Kerala's ESA. Of this, 9,107 sq. km was forest land, while 886.7 sq. km was non-forest area.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change accepted this recommendation in its first draft ESA notification of 2014. The latest draft notification, released on July 31, 2024—just a day after the Wayanad landslides—also designates 9,993.7 sq. km as ESA in Kerala. This is the sixth draft notification.
In 2018, the state government decided to propose limiting the ESA designation to protected forest areas and reserve forests, excluding inhabited areas, plantations, water bodies, and isolated forest patches. Subsequently, the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Center identified 8,656.46 sq. km in 92 villages as ESA.
Later, district-level monitoring committees conducted inspections, and the ESA extent was revised to 8,711.89 sq. km across 98 villages.
Congress MP V.K. Sreekandan raised the question in Parliament in this winter session to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change about Kerala’s proposal to limit ESA designation to 8,711.89 sq. km in 98 villages, focusing solely on forests and protected areas. The Union government’s response confirmed that Kerala’s latest proposal reduced the ESA by 121.29 sq. km, based on suggestions from the Local Self Government Department.
To address concerns raised by stakeholders, including six state governments, the ministry has formed an expert committee led by Sanjay Kumar, former Director General of Forests, to finalise the draft notification.