Madhu Bangarappa asks people of Malnad region not to worry on ESA notification

Minister in-charge of Shivamogga district Madhu Bangarappa

Stating that the State government will reject the draft notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declaring the Western Ghats an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa has appealed to people in the Malnad region not to worry over the issue.In a communique to the media on Wednesday, Mr. Bangarappa, who is also the Minister in-charge of Shivamogga district, said the Union government had released the draft notification once again. Earlier, the State government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah had rejected it. “The current Congress government under the leadership of D.K. Shivakumar also stands by the people of the Malnad region and does not support the notification. The Chief Minister discussed the issue with the elected representatives from the region and assured that he would stand by the people of the region and take all measures to protect the interests of human habitats in the region,” he said.As per the draft notification, 20,668 sq. km spread across 1,576 villages in Karnataka have been identified as ESA, including 484 villages in Shivamogga district, following the recommendations of the committee headed by Dr. K. Kasturirangan. Since inhabited areas and agricultural land have also been brought under the ESA tag, farmers in the Malnad region are naturally worried, the Minister said, adding that the government would not allow the report to be implemented and would oppose the draft notification.Further, the Minister said elected representatives from the region, including senior MLA R.V. Deshpande and legislators from Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru, have also opposed the notification and stressed the need for the State government to take a stand against it. “We are all with the people of the region. However, the BJP legislators did not discuss the issue in the session. They did not make any effort to stop the draft notification at the Centre,” he alleged. Published - August 26, 2026 07:59 pm IST