Notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests declaring the Mahableshwar Panchgani Region to be an Eco-sensitive Zone.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests notifies the Mahableshwar Panchgani Region as an Eco-sensitive Zone and imposes restrictions on industries, operations, processes and other developmental activities in the region which have detrimental effect on the environment.
A Zonal Master Plan for the Eco-sensitive Zone shall be prepared by the State Government and shall clearly demarcate all the existing forests, green areas, horticultural areas and environmentally sensitive areas.
The Notification provides for requirements for or limitations on the activities that may be carried out in the zone, such as: only non-hazardous and non-polluting small scale industries are permitted; quarrying and mining are restricted unless in possession of a special permission issued by the Monitoring Committee; tree felling is not permitted; a Tourism Master Plan shall be prepared with emphasis on eco-tourism; natural heritage and manmade heritage sites and areas shall be identified for their conservation; groundwater shall be used only for domestic or agricultural consumption; the discharge of any untreated effluent is prohibited; etc.
The Notification further provides for the establishment of the Monitoring Committee and contains one Annexure listing the villages that fall under the eco-sensitive zone.