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REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99
The Gazette of India
CG-DL-E-25022026-270448
EXTRAORDINARY
PART II—Section 3—Sub-section (ii)
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 932]
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026/PHALGUNA 5, 1947
1347 GI/2026
(1)
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 24th February, 2026
S.O. 976(E).—WHEREAS a draft notification was published in the Gazette of India, vide notification of the
Government of India in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change number S.O. 1813(E), dated the
22nd April 2025, inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby within the period of
sixty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the said notification were made available to the
public;
AND WHEREAS copies of the Gazette containing the said draft notification were made available to the public
on the 22nd April 2025;
AND WHEREAS objections and suggestions received from the stakeholders in response to the said draft
notification were duly considered by the Central Government;
AND WHEREAS considering the ecological importance of the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg area, the Hon'ble
High Court of Bombay, in its Judgment dated the 22nd March, 2024, in PIL No. 179 of 2012: Awaaz Foundation vs.
Union of India and PIL No. 198 of 2014: Vanashakti Foundation vs. Union of India, directed the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India to declare Sawantwadi-Dodamarg corridor in
Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra as an Ecologically sensitive Area (hereinafter referred to as Sawantwadi-Dodamarg
ESA) for the protection and conservation of entire ecosystem, including wildlife and its corridors;
AND WHEREAS the Government of Maharashtra in compliance to the said Judgment dated the
22nd March, 2024, of the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay in PIL No. 179 of 2012: Awaaz Foundation vs. Union of India
and PIL No. 198 of 2014: Vanashakti Foundation vs. Union of India, have submitted the final proposal vide No.
S-30/09.14/C.R.259/F-1, dated the 11th March, 2025, for declaration of Sawantwadi-Dodamarg ESA to the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
AND WHEREAS the region harbor varieties of flora and funna. The corridor has dence topical tropical and
semi-evergreen forests, facilities essential wildlife movement between protected areas, and maintains healthy, viable
populations of threatened or endemic spicies. Major fauna in the region includes Tiger (Panthera tigris), Leopard
(Panthera pardus), Asian elephant (Elephas maximum indicus), Bonnet macaque (Macaca radiate), etc. Important flora
of the region includes Kinjal (Terminalia paniculata), Mango (Mangifera indica), Teak (Tectona grandis), Ain
(Terminalia elliptica), among several others.
NOW, THEREFORE in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clauses (v) and (xiv) of sub-
section (2) and sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) (hereafter referred
to as the Environment Act), read with sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, the Central
Government hereby notifies an identified area of 212.59 square kilometer spreading across 25 villages falling in
Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra State, as the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg ESA.
1. Extent and boundary description of the Sawantwadi Dodamarg Ecologically Sensitive Area. — The
Sawantwadi-Dodamarg Ecologically-sensitive Area comprises of 25 villages, encompassing an area of 212.59 square
kilometer in Sawantwadi and Dodamarg Talukas of Sindhudurg district.
a) The map of the Ecologically-sensitive Area is appended as Annexure A;
b) The list of villages falling in Ecologically-sensitive Area with respective talukas is appended as
Annexure B;
c) The geo-coordinates of prominent points on the outer boundary of the Ecologically-sensitive Area is
appended as Annexure C;
2. Projects and activities prohibited in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg Ecologically-sensitive Area. —The following
categories of projects and activities shall be prohibited in Eco-sensitive Area:
(a) Mining.- Quarrying and mining activities shall be banned in Eco-sensitive Area and no fresh mining lease
shall be granted:
Provide that the monitoring committee shall be authority to grant special permission for limited quarrying
of materials required for the construction, repairs of local residential housing and traditional road making
and maintenance work in and around the villages mentioned in the annexure list based on site evaluation:
Provided further that all such activities shall be carried out in accordance with the order of the Hon'ble
Supreme Court dated the 26th April, 2023 and the 28th April, 2023, respectively in the matter of T.N.
Godavarman Thirumulpad Vs. UOI in W.P.(C) No.202 of 1995 and dated the 4th August, 2006; and the
21st April, 2014 respectively in the matter of Goa Foundation Vs UOI in W.P.(C) No. 435 of 2012, and the
guidelines issued on the subject by the Central Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change.
(b) Thermal power plants. -No new thermal power projects and expansion of existing plants shall be allowed
in the Ecologically sensitive Area.
(c) Industry. -All new 'Red' category of industries as specified by the Central Pollution Control Board or
State Pollution Control Board and the expansion of such existing industries shall be banned:
Provided that existing 'Red' category of industries including health care establishments as defined under
Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 shall continue in Ecologically sensitive area without their
expansion under the applicable rules and regulations.
(d) Building, construction, township and area development projects. — All new and expansion projects of
building and construction with built up area of 20,000 square meter and above and all new and expansion
townships and area development projects with an area of 50 hectares and above or with built up area of
1,50,000 square meter and above shall be prohibited. Provided that there shall be no restriction on repair or
extension or renovation of existing residential houses in the Ecologically-sensitive Area as per prevailing
laws and regulations.
3. The following categories of projects and activities shall be regulated in the Ecologically-sensitive Area as given
below: - (a) Hydropower projects New Hydropower projects including Pumped Storage Hydro projects shall be
allowed as per the Environment Impact Assessment notification, published vide number S.O. 1533 (E), dated the
14th September, 2006, subject to the following conditions, namely:-
(i) uninterrupted ecological flow of at least thirty percent of the rivers flow in lean season, till a comprehensive study
establishes individual baselines for each project;
(ii) a cumulative study which assesses the impact of each project on the flow pattern of the rivers on which the
project is being constructed and on any loss of forest, natural wetlands and biodiversity; and
(iii) the minimum distance between one project and the other is maintained at three kilometers on a river stretch and
not more than fifty percent of the river basin is affected at any time.
(b) The "Orange or Green and White" category of Industries as specified by the Central Pollution Control Board or State
Pollution Control Board shall be allowed with strict compliance of environmental regulations but all efforts shall be
made to promote industries that have low environmental impacts and fall in “Green” or “White” categories of industries,
as the case may be.
(c) In the case of activities that are covered in the schedule to the Environment Impact Assessment notification number
S.O. 1533 (E), dated 14th September, 2006, published by the erst-while Ministry of Environment and Forests and are
falling in the Ecologically sensitive Area, except the projects and activities which are specifically prohibited under sub-
paragraph (1) thereof shall be scrutinised and assessed for cumulative impacts and development needs before
considering for prior environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and climate change under
the provisions of the said notification.
(d) In particular and without prejudice to the provisions of the relevant Acts, in cases of diversion of forest land for non-
forestry purposes in the Eco-sensitive Area, all information of the project, from application stage to approval shall be
placed in the public domain on the website of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and on the
website of Forest Department, Maharashtra.
(e) The requirements of prior informed consent under the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007) shall be complied with and the consent of Gram Sabha for
undertaking projects and activities shall be mandatory.
(f) There shall be no felling of trees whether on Forest, Government, Revenue or Private lands, without the prior
permission of the State Government in case of forest land, and the respective District Collector in case of Government,
Revenue and private land, as per the procedure laid down by the State Government.
4. Implementation and Monitoring mechanism.- (1) A separate Zonal Master Plan based on the carrying capacity
studies including tourism master plan as its component, shall be prepared for the Ecologically-sensitive Area and
approved by the Competent Authority in the State Government within a period of two years from the date of publication
of this notification to carry-out implementation of the provisions of this notification and for holistic sustainable
development of such areas.
(2) The Zonal Master Plan shall indicate areas on steep hill slopes or areas which lies in hazard zone or high degree of
erosion, where construction activities shall not be permitted. Pending approval of the Zonal Master Plan any
development of regulated activities as laid down in paragraph 3 above, within the Ecologically-sensitive Area shall be
referred to the Monitoring Committee for its approval.
(3) The responsibility for monitoring and enforcement of provisions of this notification and the implementation of the
Zonal Master Plan shall vest with the State Level Monitoring Committee headed by the District Collector, Sindhudurg
District and Deputy Conservator of Forest, Sawantwadi Forest Division as its Member Secretary, to be constituted by
the State Government within one year of publication of this notification.
(4) The Monitoring Committee shall have representatives from the State Pollution Control Board, Water Resources,
Soil Conservation, Agriculture and Fisheries, Public Health, Public Works Department, Planning and Tourism
Departments of the State Government at the appropriate level as “ex officio” members. Two experts in the domain of
ecology and environment, wildlife respectively from a reputed University or Institution and Non-Governmental
Organization as non-official members shall be nominated by the State Government after every three-years. The
Monitoring Committee shall meet as frequently as possible but not less than once every six months.
(5) The Monitoring Committee shall recommend to the State Government the measures for strengthening of existing
regulatory institutions and processes in so far as they concern the Sawantwadi- Dodamarg Ecologically-sensitive Area
and based on the actual site-specific conditions, scrutinize the activities covered in the Schedule to the notification of
the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Environment and Forest, vide number S.O. 1533 (E), dated the
14th September, 2006, and are falling in the Ecologically-sensitive Area, except for the prohibited activities as specified
thereof, and refere to the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or the State
Environment Impact Assessment Authority, as the case may be, for prior environmental clearances under the provisions
of the said notification.
(6) The Member-Secretary of the Monitoring Committee or the concerned Collector or the concerned Deputy
Conservator of Forests shall be competent to file complaint under section 19 of the Environment Act against any person
who contravenes the provisions of this notification.
(7) The post clearance monitoring of projects and activities allowed in the Ecologically-sensitive Area shall be carried
out by the State Government of Maharashtra, State Pollution Control Board and all projects in the Ecologically-sensitive
Area which have been given Environmental Clearance or Forest Clearance shall be monitored at least once a year by
the concerned Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
(8) All projects in the Ecologically sensitive Area which have been given consent to establish or consent to operate
under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 ( 6 of 1974) or the Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981 (14 of 1981) shall be monitored at least once a year by the State Pollution Control Board and the
State Government with the help of the Monitoring Committee, and shall prepare 'State of Health Report' in respect of
Sawantawadi-Dodamarg Ecologically-sensitive Area biennially giving inter-alia the details of steps taken in monitoring
and enforcement of provisions of this notification and make the same available in the public domain.
(9) The Central Government may give such directions in writing, as it deems fit, to the Monitoring Committee for
effective discharge of its functions.
5. Action for contravention— In case of any contravention of the provisions of this notification, action under the
provisions of the Environment and other relevant statutes shall be taken accordingly.
6. Orders of Supreme Court, etc. — The provisions in this notification shall be subject to the final orders, if any,
passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India or High Court or the National Green Tribunal.
7. Appeal. — (i) Any person aggrieved by a decision or order of the Monitoring Committee shall prefer an appeal
against such decision or order to the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
(ii) Every memorandum of appeal under this paragraph shall precisely states the facts of the case, the particulars of
the decision or order appealed against and the reason for being aggrieved by the decision or order and the remedy
sought for shall be addressed to the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change.
(iii) Every memorandum of appeal by the affected person shall be made within ninety days from the date of receipt of
the decision or order.
[F. No. 25/01/2025/ESZ]
Dr. S. KERKETTA, Scientist 'G'
Annexure A
Map of the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg Ecologically sensitive Area in Sindhudurg district
+-------+----------+-----------+
| Sr.No. | Latitude | Longitude |
+=======+==========+===========+
| 1 | 15.8813 | 73.8516 |
| 2 | 15.8931 | 73.9029 |
| 3 | 15.9228 | 73.9396 |
| 4 | 15.915 | 73.9938 |
| 5 | 15.8846 | 74.02 |
| 6 | 15.8634 | 73.9947 |
| 7 | 15.8503 | 73.9908 |
| 8 | 15.8564 | 74.066 |
| 9 | 15.8097 | 74.0334 |
| 10 | 15.7824 | 74.0008 |
| 11 | 15.7397 | 73.9833 |
| 12 | 15.7496 | 73.9648 |
| 13 | 15.7524 | 73.9525 |
| 14 | 15.7499 | 73.9071 |
| 15 | 15.7847 | 73.9355 |
| 16 | 15.8009 | 73.9464 |
| 17 | 15.8059 | 73.9225 |
| 18 | 15.8317 | 73.909 |
| 19 | 15.859 | 73.8932 |
| 20 | 15.8695 | 73.8885 |
+-------+----------+-----------+
Legend
Sawantwadi Dodamarg ESA Villages
GPS Points
Annexure B
List of Villages falling in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg ESA in Sindhudurg district
+--------+------------+------------+---------------------------+
| Sr. No. | District | Taluk | Village Name |
+========+============+============+===========================+
| 1 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Asaniye |
| 2 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Padwe Majgaon |
| 3 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Bhalawal |
| 4 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Tamboli |
| 5 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Sarmale (includes Nevli ) |
| 6 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Dabhil |
| 7 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Otavane |
| 8 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Konas |
| 9 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Gharpi |
| 10 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Udeli |
| 11 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Kesari |
| 12 | Sindhudurg | Sawantwadi | Fansawade |
| 13 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Kumbral |
| 14 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Panturli |
| 15 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Talkat |
| 16 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Zolambe |
| 17 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Kolzar |
| 18 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Shirwal |
| 19 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Ughade |
| 20 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Kalane |
| 21 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Bhikekonal |
| 22 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Kumbhawade |
| 23 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Khadpade |
| 24 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Bhekurli |
| 25 | Sindhudurg | Dodamarg | Phukeri |
+--------+------------+------------+---------------------------+
Annexure C
Geo-coordinates of prominent points on the outer boundary of the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg
ESA
+--------+----------+-----------+--------+----------+-----------+
| Sr. No. | Latitude | Longitude | Sr. No. | Latitude | Longitude |
+========+==========+===========+========+==========+===========+
| 1 | 15.8813 | 73.8516 | 11 | 15.7397 | 73.9833 |
| 2 | 15.8931 | 73.9029 | 12 | 15.7496 | 73.9648 |
| 3 | 15.9228 | 73.9396 | 13 | 15.7524 | 73.9525 |
| 4 | 15.915 | 73.9938 | 14 | 15.7499 | 73.9071 |
| 5 | 15.8846 | 74.02 | 15 | 15.7847 | 73.9355 |
| 6 | 15.8634 | 73.9947 | 16 | 15.8009 | 73.9464 |
| 7 | 15.8503 | 73.9908 | 17 | 15.8059 | 73.9225 |
| 8 | 15.8564 | 74.066 | 18 | 15.8317 | 73.909 |
| 9 | 15.8097 | 74.0334 | 19 | 15.859 | 73.8932 |
| 10 | 15.7824 | 74.0008 | 20 | 15.8695 | 73.8885 |
+--------+----------+-----------+--------+----------+-----------+
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