The Western Ghats or the Sahyadri constitute a mountain range along the western side of India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world.
It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea.
The Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that 39 locations in the Western Ghats in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been inscribed as a World Heritage Site in the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 36th session of World Heritage Committee held in July, 2012 at St. Petersburg, Russia.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha she said, the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) establishes National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
Central assistance is provided to the States.
No statutory authority is set up for the conservation of the world heritage sites in the Western Ghats.