The record
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- The sixth draft notification to declare over 56,000 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states as an ecologically sensitive area expired in July without states reaching consensus on the final area and restrictions.
- A seventh draft is likely, while talks continue among Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and a government-appointed expert committee headed by former director general of forests Sanjay Kumar.
- The proposed designation would restrict polluting industries, mining, thermal power plants and major development projects in a biodiversity hotspot with at least 325 globally threatened species.
- The process has been pending since 2010, with six notifications lapsing so far.
What to watch next
- Issuance and content of the seventh draft notification
- Recommendations of the expert committee, whose tenure runs until July 2027
- Whether states agree on the final demarcated area and development restrictions
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Named India · Goa · Gujarat · Karnataka · Kerala · Maharashtra · Tamil Nadu · ISRO · K. Kasturirangan · Madhav Gadgil · Ministry of Environment · Parliament · Sanjay Kumar
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