Expert panel opposes approval of ₹10,000 crore Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project citing irreversible environmental damage

Aerial view of Lion-tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharavathi Valley in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district. | Photo credit: File photo

In a major setback for the Karnataka government, an expert panel appointed by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has not only recommended against approval of the proposed ₹10,000 crore Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts, but has also questioned the very rationale behind the project proposed by the Karnataka Power Limited Corporation (Karnataka Power Limited).

“…the proposed project activities are likely to result in habitat fragmentation, wildlife disturbance, cumulative stress on forest and riparian ecosystems, and long-term degradation of ecological integrity in an area already under pressure from existing hydropower infrastructure. The current proposal lacks compelling technical merit, environmental sustainability, or compliance with the public interest. In accordance with statutory conservation reports, it does not recommend its approval mandates, the evaluation committee committee.

The report was submitted to a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha during the hearing of a PIL petition filed by Akhilesh Chipli of Shivamogga and two others from Shivamogga.

The petitioners have challenged the project, which is located in the Sharavathi Valley Lion-tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary and its ecologically sensitive zone, arguing that such a project is prohibited in the protected area under Section 29 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972.

The committee comprising NBWL members HS Singh, Raman Sukumar and Shivakumar CM, Inspector General, National Tiger Conservation Authority submitted its report to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change after inspecting the project area between December 27 and 30, 2025 and submitting the report to the NBWL Standing Committee.

The panel highlighted that the project area supports the “largest known contiguous population” of the endangered lion macaque and functions as a critical tiger corridor connecting the Anshi-Dandeli and Bhadra-Kudremukh landscapes.

Loss of electricity

Interestingly, the panel found that the project “primarily involves a temporary shift in electricity generation rather than contributing to any net increase in electricity generation”, pointing out that the project only shifts power availability to nighttime hours without generating additional power.

The project “generates 2,000 MW of electricity at night by consuming over 2,500 MW of electricity during the day. There is no additional electricity generation but a loss of over 500 MW due to the project as designed,” the report said.

Disjointed and hidden

“The proposed project is disjointed and incomplete, as several major impact-causing components were either not mentioned or understated in the project document. Additionally, some of the proposed components are likely to undergo significant revision before implementation, further underscoring the current proposal’s inadequacy of comprehensive assessment,” the panel noted.

“The claim in the original project proposal that the existing power lines will be used for power evacuation is incorrect and appears to be an attempt to conceal the facts,” the report said. It pointed out that the existing 220 kV transmission lines between Gerusoppa and Talaguppa are not capable of carrying the required pumping load of 2000 MW and KPCL officials informed during the panel inspection that the existing transmission lines will be dismantled and replaced with new transmission lines for power evacuation.

In an overall assessment, “the limited operational benefits offered by the project appear to outweigh the irreversible ecological, environmental and social costs,” the report said.

Published – 10 Jul 2026 21:49 IST