The Kasturirangan Committee, officially the High-Level Working Group (HLWG) on the Western Ghats, is a policy concept and report submitted to the Government of India. It was constituted in August 2012 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The committee, chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan, was formed to holistically examine and revise the recommendations of the earlier Madhav Gadgil Committee (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - WGEEP, set up in 2010). The problem it sought to solve was balancing the urgent need for environmental conservation in the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, with the developmental and livelihood needs of the local population, as the Gadgil report was rejected by the six concerned states.
The committee's core mechanism is the demarcation of an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) within the Western Ghats. It recommended that 37% (approximately 60,000 sq. km.) of the region be designated as ESA, a significant reduction from the 64% proposed by the Gadgil report. Key provisions include a complete ban on mining, quarrying, sand mining, and highly polluting 'red' industries within the ESA. It also suggested that existing mining operations in the ESA be phased out within five years or upon the expiry of the mining lease. The concept connects directly to the Madhav Gadgil Committee and the regulatory framework of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The recommendations apply to the six states that share the Western Ghats: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The committee's report, submitted in 2013, essentially replaced the Gadgil Committee's more stringent proposals with a more moderate, balanced approach to conservation and development.
(Note: Dr. K. Kasturirangan also chaired the committee that drafted the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which replaced the National Policy on Education of 1986 and proposed the 5+3+3+4 school structure and the creation of the National Research Foundation (NRF)).