The Environment Ministry will decide on the ‘No-Go’ areas in Western Ghats region after receiving the Madhav Gadgil report, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Saturday.
Madhav Gadgil is presently heading the Western Ghats ecology expert panel, which has been mandated by the ministry to suggest ways to protect bio-diversity in this region.
“Western Ghats is an ecologically sensitive region, full of bio-diversity. As there are a number of development projects coming up in the region, including mining, we have to protect the bio-diversity from economic exploitation. The ministry will decide on the ‘Go’ and ‘No -Go’ areas in Western Ghats after the submission of Madhav Gadgil report,” Ramesh said on the sidelines of inaugurating an exhibition on bio-diversity of Western Ghats here.
He also said control over mining would be crucial to protect various forms of life in this region. He had earlier said his ministry would stick to the ‘Go, No-Go’ concept of forest area classification to prevent illegal and arbitrary mining.
The environment ministry started classifying forested regions of the country into these two zones from 2009. ‘No-Go’ zone imposes ban on any kind of mining on environmental grounds.
