Madhav Gadgil, eminent ecologist, has alleged that 1,700 illegal quarries are operating in the crest line of sensitive areas of the Western Ghats in Kerala.

Dr. Gadgil, who had chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, the report of which led to an uproar in the State, was speaking at a function organised by the Central University of Orissa, Koraput, to confer the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on him.