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Home , Konkan, Tapti River, Western Ghats

Western

The also known as Sahyadri Hills is a 1600 km long mountain range running all along the west coast of . Covering approximately 1,40,000 sq km, these mountains are home to number of endemic plants and animal . It is one of the hotspots of the world from point of view. Western Ghats start from the river Tapi in North, traverse , , , , Tamil-Nadu and ends at of in South. About 60% of the Western Ghats is in the state of Karnataka. Western Ghats harbors more than 4000 species of flowering plants of which about 1700 species are endemic to the . This section gives you overall idea about Western Ghats.

Western Ghats / Mountain range The Western Ghats refer to the 1,600-km mountain range running from on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border to Kanyakumari. Around 30% of the range is under forest cover and the area is recognized as one of the world's 10 top biodiversity hotspots. This area has one of the world's highest concentrations of wild relatives of cultivated plants. Source: ‘Green reports are faulty, says expert’, 13 October 2010, Times of India First eco-tourism District Sindhudurg, incidentally, has the highest green cover in Maharashtra (49%) and was declared the first eco-tourism district in the country in 1997. Source: ‘49 mining leases will soon strip bare Sindhudurg, state’s greenest district’, 15 October 2010, Times of India Nature’s Wealth (Sindhudurg) 5000 Sq. Area Km. Forest Cover 49% Reserve Forest 11% Private forest land 30% Flora &

Plant Species 1500 Medicinal Plants 90 (, lamgur, panther, sambar, wolf, hyena, fox, sloth bear, barking deer, 18 neelgai, wild boar, jackel, mongoose, porcupine & cat) Birds 50 75 5

Source: ‘After Goa, miners turn their attention to state’, 15 October 2010, Times of India The of India In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the University of , in association with national and international agencies, is launching an initiative for conservation of Indian amphibians one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world. Around 47 of the 320 species of amphibians (frogs, caecilians and salamanders) found in India have been lost permanently. They include different species of frogs and nine species of caecilians (legless amphibians). The amphibians of India currently face a high risk of rapid extinction due to and over 50 species are considered ‘threatened’.

Sr. Name of Lost Last found in No. Species Last found in 1920 in Kodagu 1 Coorg Toad region in Karnataka Found in Gudalur, Nilgiris 2 Ghats Wart Frog missing since 1979 Last seen in Kerala forests in 3 Parambikulam Frog 1937 Long-Headed Missing from Silent Valley, 4 Caecilian Kerala since 1979 NARAYAN’S Last seen in 1930 in Malabar and 5 CAECILIAN New Species Found Amolops A new frog found in Nagaland in 1 Nidorbellus 2009 A new frog species found in 2 Anaimudi hills in district in 2001

Source: ‘Hunt on for ‘lost amphibians’ of W Ghats’,06 November 2010, Times of India Power plants in : There are two operational power plants in the 150-km stretch between and Jaitapur along the Konkan coast in district. The government has also given clearance to a coalbased plant at Rampur in Ratangiri and a 9,900 MW nuclear power plant at Madban Jaitapur.

 The eight plants are spread over an area of 150 km along the Konkan Coast. The total capacity of power generation is 20,943 mw.  A mangroves land under the plants is around 5,000 hectares.  There are 400 species of fish and 500 species of crustaceans. The coast is also known for its corral reefs and mudflats. It is a nesting ground for birds.  The one year study has documented 11 new marine species & rediscovered 7 other species after a gap of 7 years.

Sr. Capacity Region Plants Fuel Status No. (MW) Bhopan, GMR 1 1,800 Coal Proposed Dapoli Energy Dhopave, 2 NTPC 1,600 Coal Proposed Guhagar , 3 RG & PI 2,200 Gas Operational Guhagar Jaigad, JSWEL 4 1,200 Coal Operational Ratnagiri (Phase-I) Jaigad, JSWEL 5 3,200 Coal Proposed Ratnagiri (Phase-II) Rampur, Finolex Construction 6 43 Coal Ratnagiri (Phase–I) over Rampur, Finolex 7 1,000 Coal Proposed Ratnagiri (Phase–II) Madbar, 8 NPCL 9,900 Uranium Cleared Jaitapur

Source: ‘Power plants threaten 150-km stretch of Ratnagiri coastline’, 30 November 2010, Times of India. Jaitapur Power Plant

Location Madban 6 plants, each of which can generate Proposed capacity 1,650 mw Area acquired of power 938 hectares Uranium (692 for plant site and 246 Fuel used for, residential use) Supplier Areva France Completion 6 years

Source : Jaitapur N-unit gets green nod, 30 November 2010, Times of India :

Sr. Particulars Percentage/sq.km. No. Sindhudurg District 1 5,000 sq.km. Area 2 Forest Cover 49% 3 Reserve Forest 11% 4 Private Forest land 30% 5 Plant Species 1,500 6 Medicinal Plants 90 7 Kinds of Birds 50 8 Leopards 75 9 Tigers 5 10 Mammals 18

Source: ‘Jairam asks new CM to review mine leases’, 13 December 2010, Times of India.