KPCL officials defend Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project in Shivamogga

Following a series of protests opposing the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project in the Western Ghats, a team of officers representing the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL), the project implementing agency, defended it, stating that the project would be executed by acquiring minimum forest area.

The team led by Shilpa D. Raj, Chief Engineer (Civil Design) of KPCL, made a presentation on the project and interacted with the media in Shivamogga on Monday.

The KPCL, the officers said, had been working on the project since 2017 and approached the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change for environment, forest, and wildlife clearances. The project had received in-principle approval from the National Board for Wildlife. The process for forest clearance and environment clearance was going on.

The purpose of the project was to generate 2,000 MW of power utilising two existing reservoirs in the Sharavathi valley. “The cost of the project and infrastructural requirements would have gone significantly higher, leading to large-scale deforestation, if the project were to be implemented elsewhere. We are taking up the project here, as we have Talakalale and Gerusoppa reservoirs constructed decades ago,” said V.M. Vijay Kumar, Executive Engineer, who made a presentation on the project.

"When excess power is available, we will pump water from Gerusoppa to Talakalale to store 0.37 TMC of water. It will serve as a potential energy source, by using which we will generate 2,000 MW for over six hours to meet the energy requirements at peak hours,” said the officer.

The project, as designed, would require 142 hectares of land and would need to cut 16,000 trees. However, the Wildlife Board asked the agency to reduce the number of trees. “After reworking the plan, we can save another 3,500 trees. We are conveying the same to the Board,” the officer said. He further said that the KPCL had responded to the objections raised by Praneetha Paul, Deputy Inspector General of Forest (DIGF), who inspected the site and sent filed a report not favouring the project.

The KPCL, in consultation with the Forest Department, has proposed to construct green canopies at the project site to allow the movement of the lion-tailed macaque, an endangered species. “The Forest Department has identified the places where the animals move. Similarly, we will construct culverts as part of the animal passage plan,” Mr. Vijay Kumar stated.

Water flow

The officer, reacting to apprehensions about the project’s impact on the flow of water in the Sharavathi valley, the officer said that the project would require only 0.37 TMC of water pumped once. The same could be utilised for the next 60 years. “Every rainy season, the Linganmakki Dam collects nearly 151 TMC of water. Throughout the year, water is released to the river after generating power at Sharavathi Generating Station, Mahatma Gandhi Hydroelectric Station, Linganmakki Dam Power House, and Gerusoppa Dam Power House. The river flow will not be affected,” he added.

M. Madesh, Chief Engineer (Civil), H.R. Ramesh, Chief Engineer (Electrical), and Suresh K., Superintending Engineer of KPTCL, were present at the press conference.