States » SouthPosted at: Sep 19 2026 6:19PM


Kasturirangan row turns political as Karnataka urged to follow Kerala model

Bengaluru, Sept 19 (UNI) The Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats is fast emerging as another flashpoint in Karnataka's Centre-State and Congress-BJP political contest, with demands growing for a Kerala-style state-level expert panel to establish the ground realities before any further move on the contentious recommendations.
While the Karnataka government has opposed implementation of the recommendations citing concerns of farmers and residents in the Western Ghats, the issue has also become a political battleground, with the ruling Congress and BJP trading charges over the Centre's stand and the State's handling of the matter.
Amid the political exchanges, a key question being raised is why Karnataka has not yet constituted an independent expert panel to conduct a comprehensive field-level assessment of the areas covered by the Kasturirangan recommendations.
Supporters of the proposal are pointing to Kerala's experience, where the Oommen V Oommen Committee was constituted to examine the implications of the recommendations and assess the concerns emerging from the ground.
The Kerala exercise highlighted concerns over satellite-based identification of ecologically sensitive areas, particularly where plantations, agricultural land and inhabited areas were included along with forest areas. It advocated field verification to distinguish forests from human settlements and cultivated and plantation areas.
The same approach is now being sought in Karnataka, with the proposed panel expected to visit the Western Ghats, conduct field inspections and consult farmers, local residents, gram sabhas and environmental experts before preparing a State-specific report.
The report could then form the basis for Karnataka's negotiations with the Centre rather than leaving the issue confined to political statements and protests.
The Kasturirangan recommendations had proposed declaring about 37 per cent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive and suggested restrictions on mining, quarrying and sand mining besides restrictions on certain industries and new thermal power projects. Hydropower projects were proposed to be subjected to detailed environmental assessment.
The controversy has consequently acquired two distinct dimensions -- protection of the ecologically fragile Western Ghats and the impact of the proposed restrictions on communities dependent on agriculture, plantations and other local livelihoods.
The demand for a Kerala-style committee also brings the political debate into sharper focus: whether Karnataka's response to the Kasturirangan report should continue primarily as a Congress-BJP and Centre-State confrontation, or be backed by a comprehensive field-based assessment that can establish precisely what areas and communities would be affected.
A State-level expert report, proponents of the proposal contend, could give Karnataka a documented basis to seek changes in the recommendations while addressing environmental concerns through ground-level evidence.
UNI BDN
Tags: #Kasturirangan row turns political as Karnataka urged to follow Kerala model
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