Environmentalists allege KPCL officers misleading public by spreading lies on the Sharavati PSP

The environmentalists of Shivamogga, who have been opposing the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project, alleged that the officers of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the project proponent, were misleading the public with incorrect information and lies about the project.

In a press conference in Shivamogga on Monday, environmentalists Akhilesh Chipli, L.K. Sripathi and others stated that the senior officers of the KPCL, who held press conferences in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts recently, shared false and incorrect information with the media.

Mr. Chipli said that the officers did claim that the KPCL would not need any agricultural land for the project. However, 46 farmers in Uttara Kannada and eight farmers in Sagar in Shivamogga received notices for land acquisition. “The officers claimed that they would not acquire additional land to lay transmission lines. But, in reality, the officers of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) gave him in writing, in response to an application under the RTI, that the transmission lines would require 58.8 ha of forest land. The officers are engaged in misleading the public through their lies about the project,” he maintained.

Prof. Sripathi, who has been a visiting professor of IIT Dharwad, stated that the environmentalists had been opposing the project because the KPCL had planned to execute in the ecologically sensitive area. “The KPCL’s claims that the blasts using explosives for tunnel construction in the forest area do not disturb the wild animals are laughable. They are not bothered about the

The officers are not considering the alternative methods to meet the energy requirements at peak hour. The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been more effective than the proposed PSP and also requires less money and land. It can be implemented in any place without harming the forest. “The system has been working effectively in Australia and many places in India too. Many private players are interested in selling power to the State by using the BESS at a price which is less than the money required to generate using PSP,” said Mr. Sripathi.

He also disputed the KPCL’s claim that they would not require additional land for transmission lines. “As of now the 1,400 MW is being generated in the Sharavati valley. The transmission lines have been laid to suit the present generation. With the implementation of the PSP, the total generation will go up to 3,400 MW at peak hour. How can the existing lines carry the heavy load? Hence, the KPCL will have to widen its transmission corridor by acquiring more land, which the agency is not ready to admit at present,” he remarked.

Ajay Kumar Sharma, an author studying monuments, stated that the proposed PSP posed a threat to the remains of Gerusoppa, once the capital of Rani Chennabhairadevi, that include Chaturmukha Basadi, an ASI-designated protected monument. He alleged that the officers concerned had not bothered to protect their monuments.