Development vs Ecology: The Gadgil Committee Report and the Kasturirangan Committee Report on Western Ghats and the way forward

Most recently, the debate surrounding ‘development vs. ecology’ came to light in 2018 when while commenting upon the Kerala floods, which were the worst of its kind in several decades, Madhav Gadgil – the chairman of the Gadgil Committee on the Western Ghats – said that the Kerala floods are very much man-made. He further added that the scale of the disaster could have been much smaller, had the authorities followed environmental laws. It is in this context that we’re reminded of “Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) or the Gadgil Committee,” and “Kasturirangan Committee,” which were constituted to study the ecology of the Western Ghats region, and were entrusted with the duty of striking a balance between the developmental activities, and protection of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

Before looking at the findings of the report let us look at what the Western Ghats is all about. The mountain range of Western Ghats is even older than the great Himalayas with exceptionally high levels of biological diversity. It traverses the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujrat, and is stretched in an area of 1600 km covering approx. 140,000 km2 (180,000 square km as per Wildlife India). Although it is just about 6% of the total landmass of the country, it hosts more than 30% of total plants, herpeto-fauna, birds, mammal species and fish, and “non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests.” The region is also home to some “325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species,” such as Nilgiri tahr and the Lion-tailed macaque. The 325 globally threatened flora-and-faunas (IUCN Red Data List) include 229 varieties of plant species, 31 mammal species, 15 bird species, 43 amphibians, five reptiles, and one fish species. It is precisely because of this feature of the Western Ghats, that it is the world’s 8th “hottest hotspot” in terms of biological diversity. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) has also inscribed 39 sites within the vicinity of the Western Ghats on 01st July 2012 as a “world heritage” due to the region’s immense importance in terms of “exceptionally high biological diversity, endemism, high geological, cultural and aesthetic value” (WWF).

So far, as the geographical expanse of the Western Ghats is concerned, it is a chain of mountains running parallel to India’s western coast, some 30-50 km inland, from Dang in Maharashtra-Gujarat to a place near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, it creates a natural barrier to the western arm of the South-western Monsoon shifting eastward thereby, bringing adequate rainfall to the western part of the Ghats. This feature of the Western Ghats makes it the ‘water tank’ for all the six states that it traverses.

However, irrespective of its importance for the ecological balance and the benefits that this mountain range accrues to the natives, it has been subjected to abuse and neglect. The saga of mistreatment and abuse in the Western Ghats ecosystem is not a new phenomenon. As per the research findings of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), the University of Leeds, UK, and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, which was later published in the journal of Biological Conservation (2018), opined that “the colonial forestry misperceived Indian tropical grasslands as degraded ecosystems,” as it was ill-informed. Therefore, it led to the transformation of “natural tropical grassland into European exotic tree plantation” and “these exotic trees became invasive in grassland leading to biodiversity and habitat loss” (Joshi et al. 2018). Although colonial forestry, which was primarily centered around utility, brought aesthetics and helped deconstruct the popular narrative that the Nilgiris/Western Ghats are barren, however, it affected the “bi-phase seasonal shola-grasslands mosaic system” (Ramesh 2018). The misinformed decisions and abusive practices of the erstwhile British Colonial masters, thus, risked the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats that resulted in putting over 150 local flora and fauna species in a precarious position today.” Recent studies also prove that the colonial practice did not disturb the bio-diversity, and plant ecosystems alone but was also responsible for disturbing the ‘water table’ of the region. Messing up with the water table led to “severe water problems” that the region is facing today” (Ramesh 2018).

It is in this context that the Ministry of Environment and Forests (now known as Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), Govt. of India constituted the “Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)” in March 2010. The committee is also popularly known as the “Gadgil Committee” in the name of its Chairperson Prof. Madhav Gadgil. 

The committee submitted its report on 31st August 2011. It classified nearly 64 per cent of the entire Western Ghats, encompassing all the six states and covering as many as 44 districts and 142 talukas, as ecologically sensitive zones of various degrees, such as ESZ1, ESZ2, and ESZ3, where the ESZ1 being the highest priority zone and therefore, no developmental work, such as the construction of dams, thermal power plants or mining was allowed in its vicinity. Further, it is recommended for phasing out/decommissioning similar projects that have completed their self-life. It also recommended a change in the present system of environmental governance and advocated for the setting up of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with the powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, of 1986.

The Committee received criticism from different quarters. The report of the committee was dubbed as being “more favourable to the environment/ecology” and being totally devoid of the ground realities thus ignoring the ground realities such as ailing power sector and being ignorant about the growing energy needs of the country. Further, Committee’s recommendation for establishing a new body called WGEA also didn’t go down well, and states insisted that the existing protection provisions are adequate and therefore can be provided under the same. 

It is understood that these Ghats are home to indigenous population, who are dependent on this area for their food, livelihood and sustenance. However, the damage that has been done to the ecosystem of the region is irreparable and hence calls for a collective effort towards restoration. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Even now the colonial practice of forestry as well as the contradictory environmental laws govern the environment and ecosystem of the country and not the dedicated laws towards restoration of such common resources. The greed of illegal local industries involved in a number of environmentally destructive practices has further aggravated the situation in the Ghats. The Ghats have become a home to numerous illegal environmental activities that includes – mining, quarrying, illegal industrial activities and thermal power stations. Thus, putting the eco-system of the Ghats at risk. These illegal activities are bound to prove disaster for the overall environment of the region and will prove catastrophe for the local communities.