View of Karnataka High Court. | Photo credit: File photo
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (March 10) ordered the state government and the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) not to carry out any ground work on the ₹ 10,000 crore Sharavathi Pumped Hydroelectric Project in the forest areas of the Sharavathi Valley Lion Macaque Sanctuary and its ecologically sensitive zone.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha passed the interim order on the petition filed by Akhilesh Chipli of Shivamogga and two others.
Additional Solicitor General of India K. Arvind Kamath had earlier brought to the bench’s attention that the Union government has some concerns about the project, pointing out that no approval has been given for the project so far despite the National Wildlife Conservation Board having approved the project in principle.
No obstacle
However, senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for KPCL, said that restrictions imposed under Section 29 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for destruction of the sanctuary would not cause any hindrance to take up the proposed project in the sanctuary area as there are no endangered monkeys in the project area or in the sensitive zone of the sanctuary.
Meanwhile, Advocate General K. Shashi Kiran Shetty argued that the petition is premature as the Union government has not yet approved the project.
Asked by the bench about some preparatory work going on in the project area as mentioned in the petition, the AG said there was no such option to start the work unless the Center approved the project.
However, the court orally said that since the issues raised in the petitions require review, the court does not want any work on the project to start during the pendency of the proposal if the project is approved by the Centre.
Not an improvement
The petition, filed through advocate BV Vidyulath, contended that the destruction in the sanctuary is permissible only for “improvement and better management of wildlife” in the sanctuary and the current power project cannot be termed as wildlife improvement.
The petitioners challenged the legality of the approval granted by the State Conservation Board in January 2025 and, in principle, the approval granted by the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Council in June 2025.
The petition stated that the project requires 142,763 hectares of land, of which 102 hectares lie geographically inside the sanctuary and 39,715 hectares are located in an ecologically sensitive zone.
Published – 10 March 2026 22:05 IST
