Madhav Gadgil’s divisive legacy in Western Ghats: Respect from conservationists, scepticism from local communities

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who passed away on Wednesday (January 7, 2026), had a special connection with people and activists of the Malnad region at the foothills of the Western Ghats due to his research and recommendations regarding the conservation of the hill ranges. He also had his fair share of detractors, who saw his report as detrimental to their livelihood or against their interests.

L.K. Sreepathi, a retired professor of an engineering college and actively involved in the struggle against the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project, said Prof. Gadgil was the pillar for the movement for conservation of the Western Ghats. “His death is a loss to the struggles against destruction of the Western Ghats. He spent many of his professional years studying the Western Ghats. And his recommendations were unique. He never advocated eviction of people who have been part of the Ghats for ages, even while recommending conservation measures,” he opined.

Mr. Sripathi stated that Prof. Gadgil spent innumerable days walking in the forests and staying with the local people. “He named his autobiography A Walk Up The Hill: Living with People and Nature. The title mentions the people because he stayed with them during his research and had the food they offered him,” he said.

Detractors galore

Akhilesh Chipli, an activist based in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga, said the country has lost a great ecologist, who had studied the Western Ghats deeply and submitted a report for its conservation. His findings and recommendations were the basis for arguments of many activists fighting against ill-designed projects in the Malnad region, he said.

Many people who did not approve of his report saw him in a different light. His report was deeply contested by those whose livelihoods depended on the Western Ghats and its resources. There were also those who disliked the Gadgil report because it went against their intent of looting the wealth of the Western Ghats for their avarice.

“Some people commented that he (Gadgil) prepared the report in his chamber, without visiting the field, which was not true. He was a scientist and researcher who spent several years on field study. Unfortunately, the people in rule opposed his report and eventually constituted another committee to dilute his report,” Mr. Chipli argued.

Prof. Gadgil was accompanied by members of the panel, environmentalists and local people during his 2019 visit.
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H.A. Kishor Kumar of Maland Janapara Vedike in Hassan recalled the days when Madhav Gadgil visited the villages of Sakaleshpur taluk as head of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. “He visited the villages around Hongada Halla in Sakaleshpur as part of the group. He interacted with the local people, and we all had lunch together at our home. He was a good listener and encouraged questions during our interactions. He responded to my mail until recently,” said Kishor.

He felt that Gadgil’s report on the Western Ghats and his recommendations were suitable for the conservation of the area. However, the High Level Working Group, headed by K. Kasurirangan, “diluted” the recommendations of Gadgil. “We still argue for the implementation of Gadgil’s report for the conservation of the Western Ghats,” he said.

Gadgil’s report

Prof. Madhav Gadgil headed the Western Ghats Ecology Experts Panel, constituted through an order on March 4, 2010. The panel was asked to assess the current status of the ecology of the Western Ghats and demarcate areas within the Ghats that need to be notified as ecologically sensitive. It was mandated to make recommendations for the conservation, protection and rejuvenation of the Ghats. The report was ready by March 2011. However, it was not released to the public, despite repeated appeals, besides applications under the RTI. Finally, it was released to the public on May 23, 2012.

The Gadgil report had advocated a graded approach with a major role for grassroots-level inputs for safeguarding the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. Going by which, 75% of the region could be zoned into sensitive levels (ESZ 1, 2, 3). The report had demarcated the area into three levels of ecological sensitivity. It was against special economic zones and new hill stations and favoured rescheduling reservoir operations to improve downstream flows. It suggested participatory sand auditing and strict regulation of sand mining. It recommended the rehabilitation of mined areas with a special focus on reviving water resources, and it promoted organic agricultural practices and stressed the need for implementing the Forest Rights Act, benefiting the local people.

Prof. Gadgil is regarded as a pillar of the movement for the conservation of Western Ghats.
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It recommended declaring ESZ-1 as a no-mining area and also advocated for phasing out the existing mining activities within five years. In the ESZ-2, the report said no to new mining but allowed existing mining under strict regulation and social audit. The report was also against the red and orange category industries in ESZ-1 and ESZ-2, and suggested that the existing industries should switch to zero pollution. Besides that, it recommended promotion of green/blue industries and local bio-resource-based industries under strict regulation.

Opposition to report

After the Gadgil report on Western Ghats became available to the public in 2012, many elected governments and people opposed it. They were unhappy with declaring it an ESZ, restricting the activities. Considering the opposition, the MoEF formed a High Level Working Group (HLWG) under Dr. K. Kasturirangan in August 2012 to examine the WGEEP report. It submitted its report on April 15, 2013, which again attracted widespread criticism and objection.

The committee recommended that 37% of the total area of the Ghats be declared as an ecologically sensitive area. It included 20,668 sqkm in Karnataka, spanning over 1,576 villages of 10 districts. The MoEF&CC issued six draft notifications on the ESA.

The draft notification prohibited mining, quarrying, sand extraction and such other activities in the ESA. Further, it prohibited construction projects measuring 20,000 sqm and above and recommended organic farming in the area. The Karnataka government rejected all six notifications. Many people and elected representatives of the Malnad region opposed the draft and put pressure on the government to reject it, citing that the regulation would curtail several activities in the region. Mr. Gadgil was also opposed to proposals of the HLWG, and he wrote an open letter to Dr. Kasturirangan which was published in The Hindu on May 18, 2013.

Many people who did not approve of Mr. Gadgil’s report, and it was deeply contested by those whose livelihoods depended on the Western Ghats and its resources.
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Kalkuli Vittal Hegde, a farmer-activist based in Sringeri of Chikkamagaluru, said that Gadgil was an environmentalist with genuine concern for conserving the environment. “However, we the people in our region, were opposed to his views on conserving the Western Ghats,” he said. The scientist in his report disregarded the environmentalism that forest dwellers had been following for generations. “The local people lived in the forests without causing damage. Declaring the region as ESZ would take away their livelihood; hence, we questioned his report and raised objections,” he said.

Further, he stated the conservation of nature should not be the responsibility of some people living in the foothills of the Western Ghats. “Why do only people in the Malnad region face restrictions when conservation of nature is necessary for the entire population? I often argue that it is the people living in big cities who pollute the environment, as they consume more fossil fuels. Why did nobody recommend restrictions on them?” he asked.

Published – January 08, 2026 02:26 pm IST