A coalition of civil society organisations in Karnataka (a state in southwestern India bordering the ecologically rich Western Ghats mountain range) has published a notarised Kannada-language translation of India's seventh draft notification on the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), after the government released the document only in Hindi and English. The draft, published by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in July, proposes restrictions on activities such as mining and large construction projects in the fragile Western Ghats ecosystem, and invited public comments — yet Karnataka holds the largest share of the proposed protected zone. Coalition members say the language gap has allowed misinformation to flourish, particularly in districts like Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru where residents fear displacement and loss of livelihood, and they stress the translation is intended solely to inform rather than interpret the policy.