Cooperative forums of Shivamogga to stage protests opposing draft ESA notification

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued the draft notification for the seventh time, designating 20,668 sq.km of Western Ghats as ESA. | Photo Credit: File Photo Representatives of cooperative societies in Shivamogga have decided to launch a campaign, involving people from across the district, against the draft notification declaring Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats, based on the recommendations of the committee led by K. Kasturirangan.The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued the draft notification for the seventh time, designating 20,668 sq.km of Western Ghats as ESA, on July 27. There is time till September 26 to file objections. Of the total 1,449 villages listed in the proposed ESA, 473 are in Shivamogga dist