Govt issues 5th draft notification to declare over 56k sq km of Western Ghats eco sensitive

The Centre has issued a fifth draft notification to declare over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including 13 villages in Kerala's Wayanad, as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The notification, issued on July 31, comes a day after landslides in Wayanad district claimed over 290 lives.