Politics · India · 1 hr ago
Karnataka coffee growers renew objections to Western Ghats protection plan
The Karnataka Planters’ Association, which represents more than 70% of India’s coffee growers, has renewed its objections to a draft plan to protect parts of the Western Ghats.
The proposal would designate 56,825.7 square kilometres across six states as an Ecologically Sensitive Area.
Karnataka and other states have raised concerns that satellite maps may include villages, infrastructure and privately owned farmland.
The association wants the final rules to clearly allow agriculture and some estate processing, local resource use and renewable energy.
It also warned that uneven rainfall and pests could lower Karnataka’s coffee harvest from the Coffee Board’s estimate of 2.79 lakh tonnes.
Karnataka produces 71% of India’s coffee, so a smaller harvest could affect the country’s supply.
The association has asked the Union environment ministry to consider submissions it has made since 2012; the sources do not say when the government will decide on the draft.
The Karnataka Planters’ Association has renewed its objections to the Centre’s draft Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area notification.
The association says the proposal’s mapping and restrictions could threaten villages, private land and regional livelihoods.
It wants agricultural use explicitly protected and exemptions for some estate activities.
The draft proposes legal protection for 56,825.7 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states.
The association also warned that erratic rainfall, uneven monsoons and pests could reduce Karnataka’s coffee harvest.
- Who
- The Karnataka Planters’ Association, representing over 70% of India’s coffee growers, renewed the objections.
- What
- It objected to the Centre’s draft Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area notification and sought changes to its provisions.
- When
- The objections were reiterated ahead of the association’s annual general meeting in October 2026.
- Where
- The Western Ghats, across six states; the briefing was in Chikmagaluru, Karnataka.
- Why
- The association says the draft’s mapping and restrictions could affect inhabited villages, infrastructure, private land and livelihoods, and wants agricultural use explicitly allowed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
While the preamble states that land can be used for agricultural purposes, this must be explicitly codified into the operative part of the notification.
Erratic rainfall deficits, uneven monsoons, and emerging pest pressures across the Western Ghats are likely to shrink final harvest figures, particularly in Arabica-heavy zones.
The KPA has filed submissions opposing the draft notification, according to its president.
KPA president Salman Baseer urged the Environment Ministry to give due weight to the association’s submissions.
- Draft area
- 56,825.7 sq km across six states
- KPA representation
- Over 70% of India’s coffee growers
- Karnataka coffee production share
- 71% of India’s production
- Karnataka coffee export share
- 72% of India’s exports
- Coffee Board state estimate
- 2.79 lakh metric tonnes after blossom
Sources
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