The Tamil Nadu government has asked the Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar not to "modify" the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) identified by the state in Western Ghats without "Tamil Nadu's remarks."
The state has already identified 6,665.47 sq km of Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive area, state forests minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan said.
"Any modification (to the identified area) should not be made without the remarks from the Tamil Nadu government in the interest of the public," the minister said during a video conference interaction with Javadekar on Thursday.
The Union Minister had interacted with Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and other state officials of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu through video conference to discuss issues relating to notification of ESA pertaining to the Western Ghats.
A high-level working group was constituted by the Centre under the chairmanship of Dr Kasturirangan to conserve and protect the biodiversity of Western Ghats while allowing for sustainable and inclusive development of the region.
The Committee had recommended that identified geographical areas falling in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu may be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas.
A draft notification was issued in October 2018 mentioning the areas to be notified in the ESA.
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