Don’t compromise Western Ghats for energy

Karnataka’s rush for peak power undermines foundations of climate resilience, can drive species to extinction

For Bengalureans, the Western Ghats are more than a getaway – they are a lifeline. A place to unwind, breathe, and restore ourselves. Jungle Lodges captures this perfectly in its description: “You are cradled in nature’s lap... left to enjoy the ethereal beauty... misty mornings... drive through the densely wooded forests of the Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.”

Yet it is precisely here – inside the sanctuary, amid these ethereal landscapes and dense forests – that Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) is vehemently pushing the 2,000-MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project.

According to disclosures on Parivesh and RTI-obtained data, the project will clear at least 279 acres of old-growth evergreen and semi-evergreen forests – so dense that almost no sunlight reaches the forest floor. This is the exact habitat of the Lion-Tailed Macaque (LTM), an iconic, endangered primate of the Western Ghats (WG). Of the world’s remaining 2,500 LTMs – all confined to the Ghats’ fragmented canopy ecosystems – nearly 700 reside in this sanctuary. In 2019, the Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) was expanded and renamed the Sharavathi Valley LTM WLS specifically to protect this endangered species.

The project involves blasting subsurface rock up to 500 metres deep using 18,000 tons of hazardous industrial chemicals to carve ~14 km of tunnels over two years, unleashing constant noise, ground vibrations, and toxic particulate matter into a once-pristine ecosystem. In addition, around 700 workers stationed just outside the forest will move through the area for at least five years, disrupting every corner of the LTM’s shrinking habitat. This destruction won’t just render them homeless; it will have devastating consequences for reproduction. With LTM females bearing only one infant every 2.5-3 years, such sustained disturbance could halt the breeding altogether, leading to localised extinction.

Official forest records reveal the project area’s extraordinary biodiversity: 38 mammal species, 164 birds, 43 reptiles, 26 amphibians, 17 freshwater fish, and 77 butterfly species. Among these are critically endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species, including tigers, leopards, dholes, pangolins, Slender Loris, Indian crested porcupine,
Jog night frog, king cobra, Indian gaur, spotted deer, flying squirrel, and the Malabar giant squirrel – each with survival stories as precarious as the LTM’s struggle.

The protection of LTMs – and wildlife in general – is primarily governed by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA), one of India’s strongest environmental laws. Section 29 of the WLPA categorically prohibits any type of destruction and Section 33 gives the Chief Wildlife Warden the responsibility to protect these areas, with wildlife conservation taking absolute precedence in all decisions.

In simple terms, the WLPA places conservation above all else – development or energy needs cannot override the protection of endangered species and critical habitats. No energy project that clears 279 acres of evergreen forest, cuts nearly 15,000 trees of massive girth, uses 18,000 tons of hazardous explosives, and excavates 14.49 lakh cubic metres of muck can credibly claim to serve the best interest of wildlife. The violations go even deeper: the stone quarry required for the project lies within the sanctuary itself, and the sand quarry falls inside its Eco-Sensitive Zone.

The same activities that destroy wildlife also trigger landslides. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre has already marked these areas as moderate to high landslide zones.

Despite this, the Karnataka Government – through its State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), chaired by the Chief Minister himself – approved the project. The proposal now moves to the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), which, from the looks of it, is likely to follow suit. Both the SBWL and NBWL are statutory bodies constituted under WLPA and are duty-bound to act strictly in the best interest of wildlife. If they are not doing so, they have no legal jurisdiction to even consider this proposal. These approvals are therefore in violation of the WLPA.

Replacing one crisis with another

The KPCL has already identified at least 11 pumped storage projects inside WLS in the Kali, Cauvery, and Varahi river basins, beyond those in the approval pipeline. Once the wall of wildlife governance is breached, as it has been with Sharavathi, every project starts to seem possible.

The WLS, most of which are in the Western Ghats, don’t just protect wildlife; they protect forests that regulate rainfall and store water. Bengaluru’s economy runs on the rainfall and flow from the mountains, feeding the Cauvery, Yettinahole, and even the distant future source, Linganamakki. These forests are the city’s most vital water infrastructure.

If pumped storage projects are to be part of India’s energy future, they cannot come from WG which sustains Bengaluru’s water infrastructure and supports the state’s irrigated agriculture. I take refuge in the fact that the WLPA is unambiguous: development or energy needs cannot override the protection of endangered species and critical habitats. This is especially important when state governments are pushing back even the already diluted legal protections for the WG put forth by the MOEFCC. Protecting wildlife also protects our water – and shields us from landslides.

If the current pace of infrastructure projects continues in the Western Ghats – breaching environmental laws – the extinction of the LTM is inevitable. And this won’t just be the loss of a species; it will signify a dangerous collision between energy ambitions, water security, and biodiversity survival. It is amply clear: we can’t solve the energy crisis by triggering a water crisis – or a biodiversity collapse.

(The writer is an activist-researcher, Mapping Malnad)