The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered a notice to the Center and the state government on a PIL challenging the legality of the approval granted by the State Wildlife Conservation Board and in principle approval granted to the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Council for the ₹10,000 crore Sharavathi hydroelectric project in Uttarmogga and Uttarmogga district’s pumped hydroelectric power station
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonach passed the order on a petition filed by Akhilesh Chipli of Shivamogga and two others.
Advocate BV Vidyulatha, appearing for the petitioners, argued that no approval could be granted to the project, which is taking place in the Sharavathi Valley Lion Macaque Sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone, in view of the bar imposed under Section 29 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
What the law says
Ms. Vidyulatha pointed out that Section 29 clearly states that no person shall destroy, exploit or remove any wild game including forest crops from the reserve or destroy or damage or divert the habitat of any wild animal by any act or divert, stop or improve the flow of water into or out of the reserve except with and in accordance with the permission of the Chief Conservation Officer.
Besides, the provision further states that “no such permit shall be granted unless the State Government, after consultation with the committee, is satisfied that such removal of wildlife from the reserve or alteration of the flow of water into or out of the reserve is necessary for the improvement and better management of the wildlife therein, shall not permit the issuance of such permit,” she said. She stressed that destruction on the refuge is only allowed for the “improvement and better management of wildlife” on the refuge.
The proposal stated that the project requires a total extent of 142,763 hectares of land, of which 102 hectares are geographically located inside the sanctuary and 39,715 hectares are located in the eco-sensitive zone.
No authority
The Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife has no power or authority to grant approval for any diversion of the wildlife sanctuary for purposes not beneficial to wildlife, the petition argued, and the current project is a “total disaster for wildlife” and not at all for the betterment of the sanctuary, the petition said.
The petitioners asked the court to set aside the approval granted by the State Council in January 2025 and the in-principle approval granted to the project by the National Council in June 2025.
Published – 05 March 2026 20:53 IST
