Environmentalists raise concerns over Sharavathi project ahead of NBWL meeting
Bengaluru: Environmentalists and experts have voiced strong opposition to the Karnataka government’s proposed 2,000MW pumped storage hydropower project in the ecologically sensitive Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary, ahead of a key meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) scheduled for Wednesday.
Those opposing the project include conservationists, experts and officials from the Karnataka forest department and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), as reported by The New Indian Express.
Living Earth Foundation (Leaf), an environment advocacy group, has submitted a formal objection to the member secretary of the standing committee for NBWL, highlighting anomalies in the project cleared by the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) on March 4. The group noted the that since the area is a protected ESZ, major hydro projects are prohibited.
“The November 6, 2023, ESZ notification said that establishing a pumped storage hydro power project within a notified ESZ of the wildlife sanctuary to harness 2000MW power is prohibited as per law. Neither SBWL nor NBWL should approve the project,” TNIE quoted Sreeja Chakraborty, managing director of Leaf, as saying.
The state’s energy department is looking out to utilise the existing Talakalale reservoir as the upper reservoir and Gerusoppa as the lower reservoir. To proceed, the project would require 52 hectares of forest land and the felling of around 15,000 trees.
“We are not against development. It is the sensitive location which is a concern. In May 2025, NBWL cleared the proposal to use 1.1479ha of forest land in Gudekote Sloth Bear Sanctuary to lay 33kV of interconnecting underground transmission lines for a 600MW wind project by JSW Renewable Energy Vijayanagar Limited,” TNIE quoted an SBWL member as saying.
Energy department officials have defended the proposal, stating that it is a pumped storage system and not a conventional electricity generation project. “The project uses hydro electricity. Two reservoirs are already present,” they said.
However, legal and environmental experts argue that the project's impact on the region—part of the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats—has not been thoroughly assessed.
“The proposal also listed that a three-month study was done. But a year-long impact assessment study is needed as power will be generated all year round. NBWL should look into all this as the area is prone to landslides due to the heavy rainfall it receives, and is a sensitive region of the Western Ghats,” TNIE quoted a legal expert as saying.
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Worker’s body reaches Ranchi from Saudi 4 months after death; family rejects over compensation
Ranchi (PTI): The body of a migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Giridih district killed in Saudi Arabia in October last year has arrived at Ranchi Airport, but his family refused to accept it over pending compensation, officials said.
Shikha Lakra, team leader of the state migrant control cell, told PTI that, before taking the body of Vijay Kumar Mahato, the family is demanding compensation from the private company where he used to work in the Arab country.
Mahato was killed in an alleged crossfire between the police and criminals.
“Since it was a bullet injury case, the matter is before a court in Jeddah. The final compensation may depend on the court’s decision,” Lakra said.
“The Indian Embassy informed us about the body’s arrival, and coordination was done with district authorities. Our role is limited to coordination in cases involving overseas employers and foreign jurisdiction,” she added.
Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said the authorities will try to convince the family to perform the last rites.
“We have already sanctioned Rs 5 lakh under the government scheme for migrant’s deaths abroad. The compensation payment might take some time,” he said.
The body is currently at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The Family members said they will only accept it if the company provides written assurance regarding compensation. “Without that assurance, we will not receive the body,” said Ram Prasad Mahato, the deceased’s brother-in-law.
Mahato, a native of Dudhpaniya village in Madh Gopali panchayat under Dumri block, was employed as a tower line fitter. His family said he was struck by a bullet during a gunfight between local police and an extortion gang and later succumbed to his injuries.
Social activist Sikander Ali said Mahato is survived by his wife, two young sons aged five and three, and elderly parents.
