The Congress on Friday accused the Centre of delay in declaring the ecologically sensitive area' tag for a portion of the Western Ghats and claimed that it is directly responsible for the human tragedy in Wayanad. The opposition party's attack came after the Centre issued a fresh draft notification to declare more than 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including 13 villages in Kerala's landslide-hit Wayanad, an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), inviting suggestions and objections within 60 days. The notification, issued on July 31, came a day after a series of landslides claimed more than 300 lives in Wayanad district. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh recalled that on August 5, 2019, during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he had raised the Issue of the protection of the Western Ghats. Only on July 31, 2024, following the Wayanad catastrophe, does the Union government seem to have finally moved to declare some 57,000 squ