MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has defended the proposed Rs 13,500 crore worth 3,000 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric project of Torrent Power company at Saidongar in Raigad district.
CM Devendra Fadnavis said this project is a long-term clean-energy benefits would outweigh the temporary environmental damage caused during construction.
Dismissing the criticism, Fadnavis said the opposition was being raised without adequately studying the project and its benefits. He maintained that pumped-storage technology was crucial to ensuring a reliable electricity supply as Maharashtra increasingly depended on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.
He said, this project is environment sustainable power project that is 16 KM away from Bhima Sankhar forest area and 20 KM away from Bhima Shankar temple.
"Maharashtra has become a pump storage hub, and this current project is one of them. The 3000 MW of electricity will be generated in this project. It will be clean energy. The land acquisition is needed to store the water like a reservoir. The company that is developing a power project at Karjat has given three times more land to the forest department, where the company will plant 30,000 trees at its own cost. Besides, 60,000 trees at the same site will be planted. So, 90,000 trees will be planted on this side and around the sites of the project. So, the environment and ecology balance will be maintained," CM Fadnavis said.
The proposed project, estimated to cost Rs 13,500 crore, has triggered a controversy over its potential ecological impact, the extent of tree felling and the adequacy of compensatory afforestation measures.
"Whatever opposition is being raised against this project is without proper study," Fadnavis said, adding that the environmental impact of the project needed to be assessed against the long-term benefits of clean-energy generation.
According to the Chief Minister, the project would generate 3,000 MW of electricity. He argued that producing an equivalent amount of power through coal-based generation would have a significantly greater environmental impact.
Chief Minister said solar and wind energy could not generate electricity continuously because their output depended on weather conditions. Pumped-storage facilities could help store surplus energy and release it when demand increases, thereby improving grid stability.
He said such projects had an operational life of around 80 years and were necessary to meet Maharashtra’s future energy requirements while reducing dependence on conventional power generation.
However, environmentalists and activists have questioned the government’s claims, alleging that the project could cause substantial damage to the region’s ecology.
RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar has claimed that around 90,000 trees could be affected and raised questions about compensatory afforestation measures. He has also alleged that the plantation linked to the project was supposed to take place in two villages in the Koyna dam region, but questioned whether the work had actually been carried out.
Kumbhar further claimed that approximately Rs 3.84 crore had been paid instead of carrying out the promised plantation. These allegations could not be independently verified from the information available for this report.
The activist has also raised concerns over 23 proposed pumped-storage projects across Maharashtra, arguing that the cumulative impact on forests, biodiversity and local communities needs to be assessed rather than examining each project in isolation.
