The Centre has decided to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers from six States, through which the 1,600-km-long Western Ghats traverses, to find a way to implement a controversial report on the ecologically sensitive hills. Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily’s decision came days after he directed the States — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat — to conduct a review of the High level Working Group (HlWG) Report on Western Ghats prepared by a 10-member panel headed by K Kasturirangan.
Soon after he took charge as Environment Minister on Monday, Moily had assured Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who met him to complain against the report that he would go ahead with the implementations only after taking note of their views.