CONTENTS 1. Background 20 1.1 concept of eco sensitive area 20 1.2 history of esa and chronology of events around esa 21 1.3 parameters for identification of eco sensitive areas 24 1.4 issues identified with esa 25 1.4.1 process of declaration 25 1.4.2 compromising esa conservation by negotiation 25 1.4.3 design of esa policy 26 1.4.4 implementation of esa policy 26 1.5 area of interest 27 1.6 aim 28 1.7 objectives 28 1.8 research questions 28 1.9 selection and justification of site 28 1.10 scope and limitations 29 1.11 methodology 30 1.12 framework for data collection and analysis 31 1.13 survey design 32 1.13.1 methods and tools 32 1.13.2 stakeholders’ identification 32 1.13.3 sample size 33 1.14 structure of the report 34 2. Ecologically sensitive area notification 37 2.1 pronab sen committee 37 2.2 mohan ram committee 38 2.3 hill stations committee 39 2.4 esas in other laws and legislations 39 2.5 esa as environment conservation tool 41 3. Esa declaration in matheran 44 3.1 ecological significance of matheran region 44 3.2 environmental legal history of area 45 3.2.1 vehicular ban in matheran, 1959 45 3.2.2 esa petition and declaration 2003 45 3.3 detailed review of matheran esa notification, 2003 46 3.3.1 regulations and prohibitions: 47 3.4 response to the notification 48 3.4.1 from state government 48 3.4.2 from local people, groups and institutions 49 3.5 matheran esa monitoring committee 49 3.5.1 members 49 3.5.2 roles, responsibilities and powers 50 3.5.3 relation between local governing body and committee 50 4. Profile of matheran region 52 4.1 western ghats and matheran 52 4.2 climate 53 4.3 geology and hydrology 53 4.4 soil and vegetation 54 4.5 tribal settlements 54 4.6 historical growth and evolution of town 55 4.7 demography 56 4.7.1 permanent population 56 4.7.2 structure of population 56 4.7.3 distribution of population 56 4.7.4 floating population 56 4.8 social amenities 57 4.8.1 education 57 4.8.2 health 57 4.9 economic profile 58 4.10 transportation and communication 58 4.11 ecological status 59 4.12 existing land use 59 5. Efficacy assessment of esa in matheran 62 5.1 critical analysis of notification 62 5.1.1 the process of declaration and implementation 62 5.1.2 esa and other laws and legislations 63 5.1.3 people’s participation 64 5.1.4 involvement in declaration process of esa 65 5.1.5 awareness about eco sensitive zone policy and its rules 65 5.1.6 success of the notification 66 5.2 analysis of social profile 66 5.2.1 population structure 66 5.2.2 migration 67 5.2.3 slums and residences for migrants 68 5.2.4 new constructions and their legality 68 5.2.5 type of fuel 69 5.2.6 impact on social amenities 70 5.2.7 impact on physical infrastructure 71 5.3 analysis of health and environment 71 5.3.1 health 71 5.3.2 environment 73 5.4 analysis of economic profile 76 5.4.1 occupational structure 77 5.4.2 changes in occupations after esa 79 5.4.3 income and economic opportunities 80 5.4.4 major areas of expenditure 80 5.4.5 loans 81 5.4.6 impact on employment opportunities 81 5.5 analysis of implementation and governance issues 81 5.5.1 no local representation 81 5.5.2 delay in preparation of zonal master plan 82 5.5.3 no funds for implementation 82 5.5.4 delay in approval of proposals 83 5.5.5 loss of autonomy of local governing body 83 5.5.6 limited implementation powers to committee 84 5.6 conservation measures 84 5.7 foregone development opportunities 85 5.7.1 draft development plan of matheran 85 5.7.2 ropeway project 87 5.7.3 movement of tractors 87 6.1 summary 89 6.1.1 inferences 90 6.1.2 environmental protection vs. Livelihood opportunities 92 6.2 western ghats and esa- looking at a large picture 94 6.3 eia process in india 94 6.4 drawbacks 96 6.5 the irony of esa and eia 97 Bibliography 106 Annexure 99