The undermined report

From the moment the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) submitted its ecological report on the Western Ghats to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) , the government was in a position it wanted desperately to wriggle out from.

The 14-member panel headed by Prof Madhav Gadgil had presented its report on August 31, 2011, during the peak of the furore over the Bellary illegal mining case. With the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court also looking at the issue of illegal mining in the country around the same time, the Union government thought it best to bide its time and let matters take its own course. Among other things, the CEC was also to examine the issue of mining itself in the Western Ghats region.

Hemmed in from all sides over the issue of mining in a number of states across the country, the government realised that the best way to escape from the problem was to sit on it. It could, however, do so only till the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) ordered it earlier this month to release the report on or before May 5.

The unofficial reason being bandied around was that the Union government was still in consultation with various state governments over various aspects of the report. The apprehension among anti-mining advocates was that the government was seeking to dilute the report. Not only was it unable to do so in the interregnum, the CIC also asked the ministry to go in for pro-active disclosure of all such reports.

The government did not work on an alternative. The face-saver came when the Supreme Court on Friday last partially lifted the ban on mining in three districts of Karnataka. The ban was lifted for a certain category of mines, and with strict conditions. The court directed MoEF to “revisit” clearances, and said that no unbroken areas in the forest could be excavated. The SC accepted the CEC’s recommendations about ‘A’ category mines, which had committed the least transgression on forests.

Though a map of these mines is yet to be superimposed on the 83 talukas across six states which have been marked as ESZ1 by the WGEEP, such a finding might open a can of worms. For instance, a mine that has been cleared for reopening by the CEC could well fall in an area marked ESZ1. The panel has called for phasing out of all existing mines in ESZ1 areas by 2016.

If the government was seeking to muddy the waters, it has been able to do so without dipping its fingers in the mess.