NEW DELHI: Environmental activists and lawyers have submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the move to cut down over 400,000 trees in the Shahabad forests of Rajasthan, which is close to the Cheetah-designated landscape near Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Trees will be cut due to a proposal to establish a pumped storage hydropower plant, which environmentalists say would endanger the habitats of threatened bird and animal species, as well as medicinal plants. The memorandum was also submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, seeking relocation of the proposed pumped storage hydropower project.
The government has granted permission for felling of 125,000 trees to facilitate the establishment of an 1800 MW private power project by Hyderabad-based Greenko Energy Private Limited (GEPL) on 408 hectares of land in Shahabad tehsil of Baran district.
“This land falls under a protected forest area, and preparations are being made to cut down more than 400,000 trees, despite the Rajasthan High Court taking suo motu action on this issue,” said Prashant Patani, a lawyer who signed the memorandum and mobilised locals against tree cutting.
In October 2024, the Rajasthan High Court took suo motu notice of news reports regarding the proposed felling of 119,000 trees located around 15 kms from the Kuno park.
The memorandum pointed out that the project would destroy the habitats of wildlife species and obliterate the region’s rich biodiversity. “Of the 450 medicinal plant species found across the country, 332 species are located in this forest,” said Patani. He added that critically endangered vultures face a threat of extinction. “Vultures can still be seen nesting in tall trees here, and they too will disappear,” he said.
Experts say the proposed tree felling would eliminate an area that annually absorbs 2.25 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. Locals have sent thousands of postcards to the Prime Minister.