Bengaluru, 21 September

The Karnataka government acknowledged on Monday that describing the three-day sitting of the legislature as a "special session" was incorrect, and said it should instead be treated as a "special discussion" during the monsoon session.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda made the clarification in the Assembly, accepting the Opposition’s objections.

The seventh draft declaring large areas in the Western Ghats as eco-sensitive area, based on the Kasturirangan report, was issued by the Centre on 27 July 2026, allowing 60 days to file objections.

The state has repeatedly rejected the Centre's draft notifications. The seventh draft notification proposes to declare 56,000 sq km in six states as Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA).

In Karnataka, 20,668 sq km, covering 33 taluks and 1,449 villages across 10 districts (Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Udupi), falls under ESA. This will adversely affect farmers.

The session is also important as the state is facing drought. So far, 124 taluks in Karnataka have been declared drought-hit. 

Karnataka has opposed the Kasturirangan report as it was prepared on the basis of satellite imagery without ground-level verification, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said in the Council.

“The actual situation can be understood only through physical surveys,” Parameshwara said.

He said that after correcting technical discrepancies, the ESA area could come down to 19,252.16 sq km. Of this, 16,114.08 sq km is already under national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserve forests.

The Kasturirangan report's recommendations include restrictions on mining, quarrying and sand mining, with existing leases to be phased out within five years. They also propose restrictions on new thermal power plants and expansion of existing ones, ‘red category’ industries, and large construction projects.

New hydropower projects would be subject to conditions under the 2006 notification, including a minimum distance of three km between projects, he said.

BJP leader R Ashoka defended the Centre’s notification on implementation of the Kasturirangan report, saying it was acting in accordance with an NGT order. He urged the Karnataka government to conduct a ground-level survey and appoint experienced lawyers to argue its cases.