Skip to main content

Proposed hydel project in Karnataka Western Ghats 'not sustainable or green in nature'

By Shankar Sharma*  

A recent article in Down To Earth draws attention to rushed tender process for Rs 8,005 crore Sharavathi pumped storage project (PSP) in Karnataka. It is a disastrous proposal in a core area of the Western Ghats of the State.
The article has focused on the fact that Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd has rushed through the tender process without obtaining approval from crucial environmental authorities. However, there are many core issues, which are not covered in this article, and which can highlight the disastrous nature of the project proposal.  A detailed representation of 12th October, 2019, to the Chairperson and Members, Karnataka State Board for Wildlife, Bengaluru; and another one on the same date to the Chairperson and Members National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), New Delhi, have highlighted numerous issues in this regard.  
It should be a matter of great concern to our society that the concerned authorities, including NBWL, seem to have consciously ignored these representations with credible facts and arguments.
Core issues of enormous concerns to our society are:
The proposed project location will be within the core area of the LTM Wildlife Sanctuary, which was gazetted only a few years earlier for protection under Wildlife Protection Act, under which the Section 29 clearly prohibits any kind of destruction of wildlife including its habitat inside a wildlife sanctuary unless the destruction is unambiguously for the betterment of wildlife and its habitat. 
The proposed pumped storage hydel power project is not essential for the demand/supply of power in the state of Karnataka, and it is not sustainable or green in nature. Since there are much benign and less costly options to meet the peak hour electricity demand, the costs and benefits analysis of this proposal will establish beyond doubts that it is the least attractive option.
At a time when the planet is staring at a sort of climate emergency, and when protecting the tropical rain forests and biodiversity is being considered as critical in reducing the impacts of Climate Change, losing the rich biodiversity of a wildlife sanctuary for a low priority (or may even be termed as irrelevant) hydel power plant can only be termed as a disastrous and insensitive policy, especially when there are many better options in place of such a hydel power plant.
At a time when the forest and tree cover in the state and as well as in the country is only about 21% of the total land area, as compared to the national forest policy target of 33%, the loss of about 360 acres of pristine evergreen, rain forest of very high ecological value in a wild life sanctuary will be completely against the Constitutional mandate to protect our environment, and also clearly against the global necessity to address calamitous threats of climate emergency.
As per the pre-feasibility report this 2,000 MW capacity power project is estimated to generate about 12,000 MWH per year of electricity, whereas about 14,833 MWH of energy is estimated to be consumed in the process of pumping water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir.  In effect, this proposed pumped storage power plant scheme will consume about 24% more electrical energy from the grid than it can generate in a year.  
Pumped storage projects in river valleys will lead to the destruction of seveal thousand hectares of original tropical forest cover
Such a scenario will not be in the true interest of the State, when it has been known that the state is facing chronic annual energy shortage for many decades. 
In view of the ongoing preference of the policy makers in the country to implement several such pumped storage projects in river valleys of Karnataka as well as many other states, leading to the destruction of several thousand hectares of original tropical forest cover, there is a critical need for civil society to critically question the very need for such PSPs for the country, especially when there are benign alternative options such as battery energy storage system (BESS) and demand side management (DSM).
The timing of the proposal this year has special significance to the state because of the drought like scenario in many districts of the state, including many places in the catchment area of Sharavathi river valley.  
There is a critical need to highlight to the state authorities, as well as to the authorities in the Union government, that the destruction of hundreds of hectares of thick, tropical rain forests in a rich river valley, can only aggravate the drought like situation in the coming years, since the science has already established that the destruction of forests in the river valleys of the Western Ghats will seriously impact the rainfall amount.
There is a need to highlight all these issues to the people, which have been intentionally ignored in the pre-feasibility report, and which are common to many such PSPs in river valleys, and also send representations to the concerned State governments as well as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to undertake a diligent examination of every single PSP proposal in the context of the overall welfare of all sections of our country including flora, fauna and general environment. 
There is a critical need for civil society groups to be actively involved in persuading the Union govt. to act diligently in all the associated decision making processes, since there has been a widespread view that the concerned officials might have been severely compromised with regard to their mandated responsibilities.
---
*Power & Climate Policy Analyst

Comments

TRENDING

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan. 

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria*  Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Censor Board of India 'is flagging RSS ideology' in releasing Malayalam film 'Haal'

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  The Malayalam film "Haal" has come under scrutiny by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), not for vulgarity or violence, but for allegedly failing to align with the ideological framework of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).