It is, in fact, third such draft notification. The idea of 'no go' zone - ESA - was conceived to protect the unique biodiversity of the Western Ghats which is home to a variety of endemic species of flora and fauna, wetlands and riverine ecosystems.The UNESCO has even included certain identified parts of Western Ghats in its 'World Natural Heritage' list because it is a centre of origin of many species. "Since the Western Ghats also supports a population of approximately 50 million people and includes areas of high human population density, we don't want to take a final call without taking all stakeholders on board. It will not affect agriculture and plantation activities of the people in the Western Ghats. * Karnataka- 20,668 sq km* Maharashtra- 17,340 sq km* Kerala- 9,993 sq km (Kerala wants it to be further reduced)* Tamil Nadu- 6,914 sq km* Goa- 1,461 sq km* Gujarat - 449 sq km

Source: Times of India March 02, 2017 16:07 UTC