HC imposes interim stay on Sharavathi pumped storage project
Concerns raised about wildlife and forest
The High Court has granted an interim stay on the proposed Rs. 10,000 crore Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project slated for implementation in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha passed the order after hearing a public interest litigation filed by Sagar resident Akhilesh Chipli, Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag from Udupi, and C.B. Manohar Kumar from Shivamogga.
During arguments, Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath, representing the Central Government, informed the court that concerns regarding the project are under active review and that final clearance from the National Board for Wildlife is still awaited. Advocate General K. Shashikiran Shetty urged the bench not to grant an interim stay at this stage.
After considering submissions from both sides, the court expressed serious apprehension about the potential ecological fallout.
It directed that no work should proceed in the forest area and restrained even preliminary activities related to the project. The matter has been adjourned to June 10 for continued hearing. Senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa appeared for the petitioners, assisted by advocate B.V. Vidyullatha.
The petitioners contend that the scheme will cause irreversible damage to wildlife. The project requires a total of 142.763 hectares of land, of which 102 hectares fall within the geographical boundaries of a wildlife sanctuary and 39.715 hectares lie in an eco-sensitive zone. Establishing a large hydropower facility in such a sensitive region would necessitate erecting numerous high-tension towers and stringing transmission lines across vast stretches, leading to extensive felling of valuable trees and severe disruption to animal habitats.
They further assert that neither the State Wildlife Board’s approval nor the tentative clearance from the National Board for Wildlife’s Standing Committee holds legal validity for permitting non-wildlife-related activities in a sanctuary.
Citing restrictions under Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the plea demands that no permission should be granted for the project within the Sharavathi Valley Sanctuary or its eco-sensitive buffer zone, prioritising wildlife conservation over other objectives.
