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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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
