This presentation is a quick glance of Gadgil Commitee and Kasturi Rangan reports of Western Ghats. Prepared by WGAAP under the banner Ahmad and Associates(A&A). Contains the brief sure shot contents of both the reports.

1. Western Ghats
by Western Ghats Aam Aadmi Project(WGAAP)
www.westernghats.org

2. WGAAP

3. Introduction
• Western ghats also known as Sahyadri
• UNESCO World Heritage Site. One
among 8 hottest hotspots of biodiversity
• Block rain fall to Deccan plateau.
• Separates Konkan from Deccan plateau.
• Home to thousands of plants and animals.

4. Location
Locating….
Located
• Country – India
• Coordinates:- 10°10′N 77°04′E
• Width - 100 km (62 mi) E–W
• Area - 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi)
• Period - Cenozoic

5. Location:- Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Formed during the break up of
Gondwana before 1500 million
years.
Starts near the border
of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south
of the Tapti river, ending
at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip
of India.
Includes Sahyadri, Nilgiri and
Anamalai mountain ranges and also
34 peaks.

6. Lake and Rivers
• Many big lakes are mainly in Tamil Nadu.
• Pookod lake in Wayanad and Devikulam in
Munnar are the ones from Kerala.
• Rivers include Godavari, Krishna and
Kaveri,Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Netravati,
Sharavathi, Mandovi and Zuari.

7. Climate
• The climate is humid and tropical in the
lower reaches.
• Temperatures touch the freezing point
during the winter months.
• During the monsoon season, the heavy,
eastward-moving rain-bearing clouds are
forced to rise and in the process deposit
most of their rain on the windward side.

8. Flora and Fauna
• Many species: 5000
species of flowering
plants, 139 mammal
species, 508 bird species
and 179 amphibian
species.

11. Gadgil and his
report……………..
• Madhav Gadgil, an eminent
ecologist.
• He was assigned to prepare a
report on Western Ghats.
Head of Western Ghats
Ecological Expert
Panel(WGEEP).
• Commission submitted the
report to the Government of
India on 31 August 2011.

12. What Gadgil says:
• Gadgil report considers the whole
Western Ghats region as ecologically
sensitive area.
• He divides WG into 3 zones based on
ecological sensitivity(ESZ1, ESZ2 ,
ESZ3).

13. MAJOR
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Major recommendation is the
establishment of Western Ghats Authority.
• Genetically modified crops not allowed.
• Ban plastic within 3 years.
• No new hill stations.
• Public land should not to be used for
private purposes
• Green building code .
• Water resource conservation plans.

14. ………….
• Forest land should not be taken for other
uses(Z1)
• Roads and constructions only after study
of environmental consequences.
• Red and orange industries not allowed in
Z1 and Z2.
• Forest rights act to be strictly followed
• Ban chemical fertilizers.
• Large scale mining prohibited.

15. ………….
• No large scale hydroelectric projects(Z1,
Z2)
• Encourage non conventional energy.
• For more details, visit
www.westernghatsindia.org

16. KASTURI AND HIS REPORT
• Dr. Kasturi Rangan is the former ISRO
Chairman.
• He is an expert in Nuclear Sciences and
one of scientific advisers to the PM of
India.
• He was assigned to analyse the WGEEP
Report and to give guidelines to the govt.
and to formulate an implementable action
plan.

17. KASTURI SPEAKS……
• Different from the terms of
reference, he made a new
report.
• The report divides WG into 2:
Cultural landscape and Natural
landscape.

18. Recommendations
• To ban activities which harm the
environment.
• Mining and Quarrying activities completely
restricted.
• No new thermal power plants.
• Hydroelectric projects can be initiated
obeying terms and conditions.
• Industries in red category not allowed.
• Building around 20,000km2 can be
allowed..!?

19. FAULTS IN THE REPORTS
 Kastoori Rangan report found
unscientific .
While it has made deep analysis, its
recommendations do not match with
its analysis.
Gadgil report had been criticized that
it is against farmers and its
recommendations are too extreme
and it does not consider human

20. Gadgil against farmers?????
 Gadgil is actually helpful for farmers
See some of his recommendations:
1. Implement water resource
protection programes at panchayat level.
2. Stop agriculture using
chemical fertilizers and gradually convert it
to organic farming.
3. Provide incentive payment to
farmers who maintain agriculture and
cattle farming using primitive varieties of
seeds and cattles.

22. Are people fool???
• What is the justification of denying
Gadgil report without any reasonable
reason????
• Why is it urgent to implement Kastoori
Rangan report when it faces a lot of
controversies?
• How come a nuclear expert know
deeply about environmental issues?

23. The answer is simple…..

24. Thanks for viewing
A&A
Copyright
Ameen Ahmad
Limited