Environmental expert urges govt to reject Sharavathi PSP proposal in Western Ghats

By A Representative

Shankar Sharma, a veteran power and climate policy analyst based in Sagara, Karnataka, has issued a strongly worded appeal to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), calling for the outright rejection of environmental, wildlife, and forest clearances to the proposed 2,000 MW Pumped Storage Project (PSP) in the ecologically fragile Sharavathi river valley.

In a letter addressed to Union Ministers Kirti Vardhan Singh and Bhupender Yadav, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma expressed deep concern over the Karnataka government's reported move to seek in-principle approval for the controversial project within the Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary—part of the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats.

“This request, if true, undermines constitutional safeguards for protected areas and reflects a dangerous trend of bypassing regulatory diligence,” Sharma wrote. Citing prior appeals to the Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) and the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), he raised alarm over what he termed a pattern of environmentally irresponsible decisions driven by vested interests.

Sharma questioned the urgency and transparency behind the push for the project, alleging possible commercial motives, misuse of public funds, and disregard for alternative energy storage options like Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), which he claims are both more viable and environmentally benign.

Referencing past instances of forest diversion and quick project approvals, Sharma criticized the institutional culture within MoEF&CC that appears to favor government-backed proposals despite ecological risks. “Over 500 projects were cleared in Protected Areas and Eco-Sensitive Zones between June 2014 and May 2018,” he noted, citing media reports.

He warned that granting in-principle nods to such high-impact projects could set a dangerous precedent for the proliferation of similar developments in other sensitive river valleys of the Western Ghats.

Sharma, an electrical engineer with over four decades of experience in the energy sector across India, New Zealand, and Australia, offered to make a presentation to the Ministry or the Prime Minister’s Office to highlight sustainable alternatives to Pumped Storage Projects.

“The Ministry must act decisively to reject this and similar proposals, and restore public trust in our environmental governance,” he concluded.

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