Shift in corridor of power spreads green cheer

A unique concept of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has helped restore the 25-km wildlife corridor, which was disrupted by a 220 KVA power transmission line, in the Kudremukh National Park.

The ‘conservation swap’ concept initiated by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the MoEF and the State Forest department led the State government to physically dismantle the Kemmar-Kudremukh line on April 17, paving the way for the restoration of the corridor.

The transmission line was originally supporting the now defunct Kudremukh Iron Ore Company (KIOCL)’s mining operations, shut down by the Supreme Court in response to a litigation by local wildlife conservation groups.

According to a press statement by the Wildlife Conservation Society-India (WCS-I), the State government had sought forest clearance from the FAC in early 2010 for permitting a power line to evacuate power from the thermal power plant of the Udupi Power Corporation (UPC) at Nandikur.  

As the proposed 400 KVA power line cuts through an 8.3-km stretch of critical evergreen forest corridor in Balur State forest of Chikmagalur district, a field inspection of the ecological impact was conducted by an FAC expert committee comprising K Ullas Karanth, Director, WCS-I and A J T Johnsingh, retired dean of the Wildlife Institute of India.

Based on the ecological analysis, FAC proposed the 'conservation swap' scheme for the first time in India.

They recom mended that to compensate for the loss of the 8.3-km wildlife corridor because of the power line, the State government must dismantle an existing 25-km power transmission line passing through Kudremukh National Park.

However, due to the delays caused by KIOCL, this recommendation was not implemented initially.

Moreover, construction of the new power line had started. This led to protests by local wildlife groups.

The State government gave an undertaking to the FAC that the existing power line through Kudremukh would be dismantled, before the UPC transmission line got commissioned.

Finally, on April 17, the physical dismantling of the Kemmar-Kudremukh power line began, after alternative power was provided to a few affected villages on the eastern edge of the park.