Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is touring coastal and Malnad districts this weekend to hear villagers opposed to the Centre’s draft notification to declare Western Ghats tracts as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Following a Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru, he has scheduled public meetings and sessions in Udupi, Shivamogga, and Chikkamagaluru districts. The July 28 draft covers over 20,000 square kilometres, and residents fear restrictions on mining, quarrying, farming, and housing will negatively impact ordinary village life.
The public outreach comes ahead of a special three-day legislature session starting September 21 to debate the ESA notification and a severe drought affecting the State. Officials report that a vast majority of taluks show drought conditions with declining groundwater and crop failure, while peak power demand has surged and water storage levels have dropped. Environmental groups argue that some resistance to the ESA is politically motivated, whereas local MPs want only already notified forest to be added.