KOCHI: KSEB’s decision to explore the possibility of reviving the 163MW Athirappilly hydroelectric project has disturbed the tribal community of Vazhachal. The tribespeople feel the Athirappilly project will displace the Kadar community which has already been displaced three times in the name of power projects.
Vazhachal tribal head V K Geetha said chieftains of the nine tribal settlements in the region will meet on May 2 to discuss the issue. The meeting is expected to pass a resolution to resist any move to implement the project, which will then be submitted it to Vazhachal Divisional Forest officer (DFO) R Lakshmi.
Meanwhile, environmental activists, including Chalakudy River Protection Forum leader S P Ravi, have come out against the decision to revive the Athirappilly project.
“We received our community forest rights in 2014 and no project can be implemented without our consent,” Geetha, who spearheaded the agitation against the project a decade ago, tells TNIE.
“This is the forest land where our ancestors lived. KSEB is talking about providing infrastructure facilities like primary health centre for the tribal community. Many such promises were made in the past, which proved hollow. We were cheated, and hence, we cannot believe anyone.”
A study conducted by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) in 2010 says the Vazhachal forest is home to 231 species of birds, including four species of hornbills, of which 121 are rare and 24 endemic to the Western Ghats. Besides, the area just above the Vazhachal falls is an elephant corridor, passing near the Poringalkuthu power house and bound on the southern side by the Edamalayar reservoir. It connects the Idamala valley and the Nelliyampathy forests.
“There are five dams in the Chalakudy basin: Parambikulam, Thoonakadavu, Upper Sholayar, Kerala Sholayar and Poringalkuthu. Around 80% of the forest is already fragmented due to reservoirs, roads, and plantations, and constructing another dam will totally destroy the ecosystem,” says Ravi.
While KSEB says that power demand has risen to 5,800MW, the peak-hour demand crossed 5,700MW only once last year, he points out.
“In May 2024, the daily consumption was above 110 million units for nine days. This year, the consumption crossed 100 million units only on three days. Still, KSEB hasn’t utilised the maximum capacity of the hydel projects,” Ravi says.
According to a statement made by former finance minister in 2016, the Athirappilly project was estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore, he says.
“That means the cost of power generation would be Rs 12 per unit. Now, the cost will be double that amount and the project will add to the burden of the state,” the environmentalist says.
Further, he says the Athirappilly waterfalls dries up in summer as water is stored in the Sholayar and Poringalkuthu reservoirs. Another dam will reduce the water flow even more, he says.
“If KSEB wants to restore the glory of Athirappilly waterfalls, they have to release 15 cubic metres of water from the dam per second. The board had proposed a project to link the Idamalayar and Poringalkuthu reservoirs to improve power generation through pumped storage. They have to explain the status of the project. The natural glory of the Chalakudy river can be witnessed only on a 20-km stretch, from the tail race discharge of Poringalkuthu dam to Thumboormuzhi where the water is diverted to canals,” Ravi says.
Environmentalists allege that the proposal to develop Athirappilly as an integrated tourism and power generation project is an eyewash.
According to them, around 14 lakh tourists visit Athirappilly a year, which is more than the region’s carrying capacity. The board will not get permission to operate a seaplane from the proposed reservoir as the location of the dam is just 400m above Vazhachal falls.