Bengaluru :The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously resolved not to accept the seventh draft notification on Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) issued by the Centre on July 27, 2026, under the Kasturirangan report, in its present form.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, said the Western Ghats were one of Karnataka’s most important natural assets and vital for biodiversity and ecological balance. The seventh draft notification covers around 20,668 sq km across 1,449 villages in 10 districts of Karnataka.
The Assembly said the notification had caused concern among local people as agricultural land, plantations, houses and public facilities had been included along with forest areas. It also objected to the boundaries being determined using satellite data without a joint physical survey or identification based on survey numbers.
The resolution said issues related to Bagar Hukum land, Forest Rights Act claims, deemed forests, land grants, appeals and pending court cases had not been adequately considered. It also questioned declaring an entire village as ESA merely because one-fifth of its area falls under forest cover, calling the approach unscientific.
The Assembly urged the Centre to include only notified forest areas and other forest land in the ESA, excluding granted lands, agricultural and plantation areas, human habitations and public-use areas.
It also sought consideration of Bagar Hukum, forest rights, deemed forest, land grants, appeals and pending judicial cases while finalising the boundaries.
The resolution called for a committee of experts to physically survey and identify forest boundaries, habitations, agricultural areas and ecologically sensitive areas on a survey-number basis.
The State also sought guidelines for alternative livelihood opportunities and financial assistance for farmers and workers who may be affected by ESA restrictions.
The resolution said the State Government would constitute a high-level committee headed by a retired judge. It would include revenue and forest officials, representatives of farmers and industries, and experts and scientists from academic institutions specialising in forests and environmental matters.
The committee will examine the shortcomings of the Kasturirangan report and suggest modifications. The State Government will also conduct a physical survey and demarcate the affected areas on a survey-number basis.
Karnataka will request the Centre to grant one year to complete the process and not finalise the notification concerning the State during this period.
After the committee submits its report, the Centre should hold detailed discussions with the State Government before taking a final decision on the ESA notification, the resolution said.
The State Government also decided to constitute gram panchayat-level committees comprising elected representatives to assist the state-level committee and facilitate local participation.
The resolution was adopted unanimously after the three-day special session of the Karnataka Legislature discussed the Kasturirangan report and concerns of people living in the Western Ghats.
Earlier, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar addresses the special session to adopt a resolution against the Kasturirangan report, in Bengaluru on Monday.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday defended Karnataka’s decision to convene a three day special legislature session to discuss the Kasturirangan report and drought, while BJP state president B Y Vijayendra demanded that the sitting be extended to at least a week to allow a fuller debate on the issues.
Shivakumar defends three-day special session
The exchange set the terms for the special session, with the government saying it wanted farmers, legislators and other stakeholders to shape Karnataka’s response to the Kasturirangan report, and the BJP arguing that three days would not be enough to address the concerns before the state.
Shivakumar said the government could have simply sent its earlier decision on the Kasturirangan report to the Centre, but chose to seek wider views before taking a final position. Karnataka has to communicate its decision to the Centre by September 27, he said.
“This should not be my personal decision. This special session has been called to collect the views of farmers, ordinary people and representatives from those areas and discuss the drought, farmers’ problems and the Kasturirangan report,” he said.
Shivakumar said he had met farmers, MPs, MLAs and representatives of affected areas and had received thousands of petitions. Meetings had also been held with legislators in Kalaburagi, Belagavi and Chitradurga, he said.
“The Kasturirangan report itself has become the problem, and many suggestions have come on how to resolve it. We have come together in this session with the good intention of considering all these views and finding a solution for the poor, farmers and people of the Western Ghats and Karnataka as a whole,” he said.
Vijayendra, however, said the three day session would be inadequate. Speaking alongside Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, he demanded that it be extended to a week so the Assembly could discuss the Kasturirangan report, drought, protection of the Western Ghats and farmers’ concerns in detail.
Opposition questions scope of special session
The Opposition leader said the BJP had already submitted a notice on the Kasturirangan report and would raise the matter in the Assembly.
Shivakumar, meanwhile, rejected the suggestion that the government had called the session merely to manage a political demand. “I did not simply come and sit here. I have gone to the four divisions of the state, held meetings there and personally assessed the situation. Many decisions have already been taken on how our government should help the people,” he said.
He said 102 taluks had already been declared drought affected and that the process of declaring another 100 was under way.
