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Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · India · 2011–2024

Western Ghats protection plan left unimplemented; Wayanad villages were listed

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

A 2011 expert panel led by Madhav Gadgil proposed declaring much of the Western Ghats ecologically sensitive and banning quarries; Kerala and Karnataka opposed it and it was not implemented. Villages in Wayanad, Kerala, that were on the sensitive list were hit by a landslide on 30 July 2024.

What?
A 2011 expert panel led by Madhav Gadgil recommended protecting large parts of the Western Ghats; the recommendation was not implemented, and Wayanad villages on its sensitive list were struck by a landslide in 2024. The Tribune
Where?
Western Ghats, India; Wayanad, Kerala The Tribune
When?
Panel recommendation in 2011; landslide on 30 July 2024 The Tribune
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Western Ghats ecosystem — Proposed protection was not put into effect, and no warning or decision followed The Tribune
Harmed
  • Residents of Wayanad villages on the sensitive list — Hit by a landslide on 30 July 2024 The Tribune
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
An expert recommendation to designate sensitive areas and ban quarries, which state governments opposed. The Tribune
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In 2011 a panel led by Madhav Gadgil proposed declaring large parts of the Western Ghats ecologically sensitive and banning quarries (The Tribune).

The Kerala and Karnataka governments opposed the proposal, and it was not implemented (The Tribune).

Wayanad villages were on the panel's sensitive list when a landslide struck on 30 July 2024 (The Tribune).

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: at least 229 deaths in the Wayanad landslide as of 10 August 2024, with hundreds missing (Deccan Herald).
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: sensitive-area shares of about 64 percent under the Gadgil proposal and about 37 percent under the Kasturirangan panel.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: that the unimplemented report caused or worsened the landslide. The link rests on opinion columns, not on causal research.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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