BENGALURU: The recently submitted site inspection report by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of India (MoEFCC) on the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project in Shivamogga district stated that the project cannot be cleared as the compensatory land offered is not adequate. Moreover, the project will lead to major landslides and destruction of the Western Ghats.
The report has come at a time when the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority has listed Shivamogga as one of the districts vulnerable to landslides and floods with increasing development activities.
“As the project involves steep slope-cutting of up to 60 degrees, formation of new roads, widening of existing roads, felling of over 15,000 trees and blasting of sub-surface rocks, high rainfall coupled with exposure of steep slopes and soil would make the region vulnerable to landslides,” the report said
The project will have two reservoirs. Drilling and blasting of rocks for the construction of 500-metre deep 3.2km nine-diametre underground tunnels will be disastrous not only for the ecology, but also for human habitations, the report stated.
A team from MoEFCC visited the project sites from May 7-9. The state’s Energy Department had submitted a proposal to the Karnataka Forest and Environment Department and to MoEFCC seeking clearance for diversion of 54.155 hectares of forestland in Sagar, Shivamogga and Honnavar forest divisions for the project to generate and store 2000MW of power. The project is being executed by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).
The Western Ghats region is an important watershed for peninsular India. The region has 37 west-flowing and three east-flowing rivers. The central part of the Western Ghats is known for cultivation of paddy, coffee, tea, cardamom, pepper, arecanut and other crops. “No studies have been conducted to determine the impact of such projects on the region,” the report stated.
The team pointed out that over 18,000 hectares of forestland has been leased in the past to KPCL for various projects in Uttara Kannada. But now, ecological factors outweigh the economic factors listed out.
A senior official from Karnataka said, “The report has rejected a proposal for forest clearance for the project. A team from the National Board for Wildlife is yet to inspect the project sites. Though the state wildlife board cleared the project with certain conditions, it is known that it was done under pressure. The lion-tailed macaque habitat is Centrally recognised and cannot be damaged. There are also Supreme Court orders in various cases on habitat protection and improvement.”