Uduppi: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said the state government would consult officials and take a decision on the demand for conducting a physical survey of areas identified under the Kasturirangan report.
Speaking at a meeting with local residents and representatives of various organisations at Hebri in Udupi district, Shivakumar said the government wanted to understand the concerns of people living in the region before communicating its stand to the Centre.
He said the views and concerns of local communities would be considered while examining the issue.
The Kasturirangan Committee had recommended declaring around 37 per cent of the Western Ghats, covering nearly 60,000 sq km across six states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu—as an Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA).
The recommendations aim to balance environmental conservation in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats with the developmental needs of local communities.
