Bargi Pumped Storage Project moves forward, local groups protest lack of consultation

By A Representative 

The Expert Appraisal Committee has cleared the application for issuing Terms of Reference (ToR) to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment, prepare an Environmental Management Plan, and hold a public hearing for the proposed 1,000 MW Bargi Open Pumped Storage Hydropower Project. 

The ToR will be sent separately by the Ministry of Environment to M/s Serenitica. The company had applied to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for environmental clearance for the project, which falls under Category A, Item 1(c) “River Valley Projects” of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, and therefore requires appraisal at the central level.

The proposal involves using the existing Bargi reservoir for the open-loop pumped storage system and constructing a new upper reservoir with a total storage capacity of 24.44 MCM and a maximum dam height of 25 metres. 

The project requires about 381.50 hectares of land, including 110.50 hectares of private land and 271 hectares of forest land. Diversion of forest land for non-forest use will be required, but no application for forest clearance has yet been submitted.

According to the application, the state Renewable Energy Department in Bhopal issued a preliminary allocation letter on August 11, 2025, allowing development of the 1,000 MW project. The estimated cost of the project is ₹4,689.89 crore. It proposes four units of 200 MW each and two units of 100 MW each, expected to generate 2,078.50 million units of electricity annually. 

People from five villages are likely to be displaced. The project is proposed in the villages of Pindrai Mal, Salaiya Mal, Jamthar, Khapa, Niwari and Pondi in Narayanganj and Bijadandi blocks of Mandla district.

Raj Kumar Sinha of the Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association questioned why the project process is advancing in Fifth Schedule areas without first obtaining consent from the concerned gram sabhas. 

He said the Renewable Energy Department has already issued an allocation letter to the company, while the Narmada Valley Development Authority is reluctant to provide irrigation water from the Bargi reservoir to local farmers but moves swiftly to approve pumped storage projects. 

The association has demanded that the government address the long-pending demand for lift irrigation from the Bargi reservoir through dialogue with local farmers before granting approval to the pumped storage project.