Environmental activists in Shivamogga are voicing strong opposition against the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project (PSP), accusing officers from the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) of deliberately misrepresenting facts to the public.
During a recent press conference in Shivamogga, environmentalists like Akhilesh Chipli and L.K. Sripathi highlighted how senior KPCL officials provided inaccurate and misleading information to the media regarding the project’s implications.
Mr. Chipli pointed out the discrepancy between KPCL’s assurances and reality. While officials claimed no agricultural land would be acquired, 46 farmers in Uttara Kannada and eight in Sagar, Shivamogga, have already received land acquisition notices. Furthermore, despite claims of no additional land for transmission lines, a Right to Information (RTI) response from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) confirms that 58.8 hectares of forest land would be needed for new lines. “The officers are intentionally misleading the public with their false statements about this project,” Chipli asserted.
Professor Sripathi, a visiting faculty member at IIT Dharwad, reiterated that environmentalists oppose the project due to its planned location in an ecologically fragile region. He dismissed KPCL’s assertion that tunnel construction blasts in forest areas would not harm wildlife as “laughable,” emphasizing their apparent disregard for environmental impacts.
Sripathi further argued that KPCL officials are ignoring viable alternatives for peak-hour energy demands. He highlighted the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as a more effective, cost-efficient, and land-saving solution compared to the proposed PSP. BESS can be deployed anywhere without disturbing forests and is already successfully implemented in Australia and various parts of India. “Many private companies are keen to supply power to the state using BESS at a lower cost than generating it through the PSP,” he added.
He also challenged KPCL’s denial of needing more land for transmission lines. With the Sharavati valley currently generating 1,400 MW, the PSP would boost total output to 3,400 MW during peak hours. Sripathi questioned how existing infrastructure could handle such a substantial increase, concluding that KPCL would inevitably need to expand its transmission corridor, requiring additional land they are currently unwilling to acknowledge.
Adding another layer of concern, author Ajay Kumar Sharma, who studies historical monuments, warned that the proposed PSP threatens the ancient ruins of Gerusoppa. This site, once the capital of Rani Chennabhairadevi, includes the Chaturmukha Basadi, a protected monument designated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Sharma accused officials of neglecting their duty to preserve these historical treasures.