Mumbai: A draft notification from the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has added 2,515 villages across 13 districts in Maharashtra to the list of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) along the Western Ghats. This includes 333 villages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as well as villages in northern, western, and coastal Maharashtra.

The previous draft notification from 2022 listed 2,133 eco-sensitive villages in Maharashtra. This number has now increased by 382, resulting in a 17% rise in the state's designated eco-sensitive areas.

The notification, issued on July 31, proposes a complete ban on mining, quarrying, and sand mining in these eco-sensitive areas, with existing mines to be phased out within five years. It also prohibits new thermal power projects and the expansion of highly polluting industries within these zones. The government has provided a 60-day period for submitting suggestions and objections to the draft.

Out of the 56,825 square kilometers designated as eco-sensitive areas in the Western Ghats across six states, approximately 17,340 square kilometers are located in Maharashtra. The 333 villages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) now included in the list are primarily situated in the tehsils of Shahapur, Murbad, Wada, Mokhada, and Jawhar in Thane and Palghar districts.

The process of designating eco-sensitive areas in the Western Ghats has been ongoing since 2011, when an ecologist Madhav Gadgil-led committee recommended that 75% of the 129,037 square kilometers of the Western Ghats be declared environmentally sensitive due to its dense forests and numerous endemic species. Three years later, a second committee chaired by rocket scientist K. Kasturirangan reduced this to 50%, and a 2018 draft notification further narrowed it to 37%. However, none of these notifications, including the 2022 draft, were finalized due to objections from state governments. The most recent draft was issued a day after a devastating landslide in Wayanad district, Kerala, which resulted in over 300 deaths.

Since including villages in the MMR and other districts could impact construction, mining, and other infrastructure projects, political leaders in these areas are likely to oppose the draft notification.