RAS question
The Gadgil Committee (WGEEP) recommended dividing the Western Ghats into how many Ecologically Sensitive Zones?
Correct answer: (D) 3.
The Gadgil Committee, formally the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, recommended dividing the Western Ghats into three Ecologically Sensitive Zones: ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3.
Explanation
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, chaired by Madhav Gadgil, studied the ecological status of the Western Ghats and prepared geospatial databases on ecological sensitivity. Its recommendation was not a simple protected-versus-unprotected split. It designated the entire Western Ghats region as an Ecologically Sensitive Area and then graded it into three Ecologically Sensitive Zones: ESZ 1 for very high sensitivity, ESZ 2 for high sensitivity and ESZ 3 for moderate sensitivity. ESZ 1 carried the highest protection level, which is the exam-relevant point. Therefore, when the question asks how many zones the Gadgil Committee recommended, the answer is three.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Two is wrong because the WGEEP recommendation used three graded zones, not a binary division.
- (B) Four is wrong because the panel identified ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3 only.
- (C) Five is wrong because the report's classification stopped at three Ecologically Sensitive Zones.
Concept
This tests environmental governance and committee recommendations, especially how ecological sensitivity is translated into graded regulatory zones. It recurs in RAS because Western Ghats conservation, ESZ classification and expert-committee reports are standard Environment and Ecology themes.