View of the avalanche spare forest near Udhagamandalam. | Photo Credit: M. Satyamoorty
Although the state forest department has developed in recent years to protect and protect the Nilgiri Tahr, a state animal, a proposed hydroelectric project could penetrate the heart of the Tahr domain in Upper Nilgiris.
The CRROR CRORE 5,000 GBP project to carry out NTECL – a common company between Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) adds 1,000 MW to the state network. In the pipeline for more than ten years, the project assumes pumping water between the two existing tanks in Horní Bhavani and an avalanche through underground tunnels to produce electricity to help supply the energy grid during top -class demand hours, TNPDCL officials said.
According to a preliminary feasibility report for a project published by NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Limited, the tunnels, including the head tunnel, are bored uphill in the avalanche of Akalans in Lavina in Nilgiris forest division by more than 1.5 km.
“At present, NTPC and TNPDCL have been granted permission to drill in several places to test the suitability of the soil and the rocks of the project,” said S. Gowtham, division forest officer (Nilgiris division).
Mr Gowtham asked about the importance of the area for wild animals and said that the areas surrounding the Mukourthi National Park, including an avalanche, overuvatam and koracundha, include a huge tract of undisturbed forest areas. “The region serves as a habitat for a very high population of tigers and herds of Nilgiri Tahr and Golden Jackal,” he said, adding that the area is also a relatively simple invasive species, making it an extremely likely habitat for the Tahrirthi population.
Geologically sensitive area
The expert in the renewal of Godwin Vasanth Bosco said that the region is extremely environmentally sensitive and that any projects on such a scale could massively destabilize the existing mountain ecosystem.
In 2019, the area recorded the highest amount of precipitation for 24 hours in Tamil Nadu from the beginning of weather records, with 820 mm rain concentrated in a small area measuring 20 square kilometers. The following landslides led to the fact that the Avalanche Power House had been knocked down offline for months.
Gokul Halan, a hydro-ecologist based in Nilgiris, said: “This area is known to be susceptible to landslides. In 2019, hundreds of landslides caused by heavy rains.
Aneesh Sekhar, CEO of Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation, said: “In the upper project of hydroelectrics of hydroelectricity project Hydroelectricity The Horní project, which will be underground.
The head of the State Forestry Tamil Nadu Srinivas Reddy said he would not be able to comment on the project at the current stage. “We did not receive any proposal for the project. I will not be able to comment only after browsing through the proposal,” he said.
Published – 3 October 2025 20:10
