Overview
- The Centre is preparing to finalise and notify Ecologically Sensitive Areas in Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, a move reported on Monday, June 22, 2026.
- The notifications will follow the Kasturirangan committee’s mapped ‘natural landscapes’ that form roughly a 56,000 sq km proposal across six states, but the government will proceed state by state.
- The draft rules tied to the ESA plan would ban or sharply limit new mining and quarrying, thermal power plants, red‑category polluting industries, and large construction projects over 20,000 sq metres.
- Kerala and Karnataka continue to object — Kerala seeks further reductions to areas claimed for ESA and Karnataka questions the panel’s approach — which is why the Centre is notifying only states that have reached agreement.
- The move revives a decade‑long debate that began with the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports, responds to a 2022 Supreme Court order on mandatory eco buffers, and will subject local development projects to stricter environmental review and possible compensation or incentive measures.