Wildlife board approved power project in Sharavathi valley, documents show

Bengaluru: The “in-principle” approval to establish a pumped storage project in the Sharavathi Valley Lion Tailed Macaque Sanctuary issued by the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) has turned into a “full” approval behind the scenes, activists said, pointing to documents accessed under the Right to Information Act.

The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited has sought 131.81 acres of forest in the valley to build a 2000 MW power house. The project has seen widespread opposition across the district with thousands saying ‘no’ in the public hearing in September 2025.

In its meeting on June 26, 2025, the NBWL standing committee had indicated that the clearance was tentative. “After discussions, the standing committee decided to recommend the proposal in-principle with the following conditions,” the minutes of the meeting noted, laying down a set of 28 conditions.

A month later, however, the Centre had removed the “in-principle” clause. In a letter dated July 17, 2025, the wildlife wing of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) wrote to the state government communicating that the project has been cleared. “After discussions, the standing committee of the NBWL decided to recommend/approve the proposal subject to the following conditions,” it said, copying the conditions from the minutes.

Why it matters?

Turning what was publicly described as a tentative clearance into a final approval has ramifications in the procedure followed by the expert committee of the MoEF&CC in clearing mega projects proposed in highly critical areas.

Notably, the Forest Advisory Committee, whose clearance is mandatory before taking up the project, has been waiting for the stance of the NBWL.

Chikkamagaluru-based wildlife activist Veeresh G said the government has misled the people. “The Wildlife (Protection) Act doesn’t allow such projects even in the eco-sensitive zones of the sanctuaries, let alone its core area. Yet the NBWL misled the public by using the words ‘in-principle’. We are now finding out that the approval was final,” he said.

Veeresh further noted that the minutes of the meeting are supposed to provide details of deliberations in a transparent manner. “The development shows that when it comes to processing the projects of big companies, many things happen without any explanation,” he said.

The proposal has come under scrutiny after two members of the NBWL sought a site inspection. Both the wildlife and forest expert committees are awaiting the report of the inspection.