The state's letter, approved by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, went through a round of consultation with all senior state ministers, and was dashed off in February.
“We agree with the criteria for defining ESZ but those who authored the report have not gone by their own criteria," said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
For instance, he pointed out that 50% of Karjat taluka can be classified as ESZ as per criteria, but the report has denotified the entire taluka as ESZ. The state has objected to covering of the entire administrative taluka under ESZ. It has recommended restricting ESZ areas as per the criteria and demarking it. In fact, ESZ-I is considered as a most sensitive environment zone.
The letter has also objected to having the Western Ghats authority as a regulatory authority.
“There are multiple authorities and having another one for projects in these areas will not serve any purpose," the official added. Read the full report here.
Source: Ketaki Ghoge, Hindustan Times, Mumbai.
