BENGALURU: With the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) meeting scheduled on Wednesday, some groups are lobbying against the Karnataka government’s 2,000MW project in the Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary, and a notified eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) in Sharavathi valley.
Those opposing the project include conservationists, experts and officials from the Karnataka forest department and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Living Earth Foundation (Leaf), an environment advocacy group, has penned a letter to the member secretary of the standing committee for NBWL, pointing out anomalies in the project cleared by the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) on March 4. Leaf said that since the area is a protected ESZ, major hydro projects are prohibited.
As per schedule 1(c) of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2006, hydro power projects above 50MW are classified as A-category projects. “The November 6, 2023, ESZ notification said that establishing a pumped storage hydro power project within a notified ESZ of the wildlife sanctuary to harness 2000MW power is prohibited as per law. Neither SBWL nor NBWL should approve the project,” said Sreeja Chakraborty, managing director of Leaf.
The Karnataka energy department is looking to utilise the existing reservoir at Talakalale as the upper reservoir, and Gerusoppa as the lower reservoir. It also sought 52ha (hectares) of forest land and felling of 15,000 trees for the project.
“We are not against development. It is the sensitive location which is a concern. In May 2025, NBWL cleared the proposal to use 1.1479ha of forest land in Gudekote Sloth Bear Sanctuary to lay 33kV of interconnecting underground transmission lines for a 600MW wind project by JSW Renewable Energy Vijayanagar Limited,” an SBWL member said.
Energy department officials said: “It is a pumped storage project and not an electricity project. The project uses hydro electricity. Two reservoirs are already present.”
“Energy will be used to pump water and electricity will be generated when water flows. The energy department has also sought land to lay electricity lines. The aim is to generate 2000MW power. The proposal also listed that a three-month study was done. But a year-long impact assessment study is needed as power will be generated all year round. NBWL should look into all this as the area is prone to landslides due to the heavy rainfall it receives, and is a sensitive region of the Western Ghats,” a legal expert said.