MUMBAI: The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the central ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has deferred a proposal from Tata Power to divert 160.78 hectares of forest land for the construction of the 1800-MW Pumped Hydro Storage Project to be set up in Pune district’s Shirwata. The committee observed that the proposed land fell in the eco-sensitive area of the Western Ghats.
The aforementioned forest land has a canopy density of 0.7 (very dense forest), and 64,729 trees are proposed to be felled, according to the minutes of the meeting held on March 24, which were uploaded last week. The project also requires 37.01 hectares of private land. When contacted by HT, a Tata Power spokesperson declined to comment.
According to the minutes, the FAC said that after going through the facts of the proposal and submissions made by the state nodal officer, it had deferred the proposal. The FAC asked the state to submit the comments of the environment ministry’s concerned division with regard to taking up the proposal in an eco-sensitive area.
The forest department, in its analysis of the issue, has pointed out that the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is 19.98 km and the Karnala Bird Sanctuary 34.48 km away from the forest land proposed to be diverted. The deputy conservator of forests, Pune, in his report has noted that a wildlife mitigation plan is very necessary, as the project area supports important wildlife species such as leopards, sambars, barking deer, reptiles and amphibians.
The minutes of the FAC note that a new upper reservoir is to be constructed while the existing Shirawta reservoir, an operational dam since 1920 across the Kundali river, will serve as the lower reservoir. The upper reservoir will be connected to the powerhouse by penstocks, and the lower reservoir will be connected by a tailrace tunnel.
The catchment area of the existing Shirawta reservoir is 28.47 sq km. In addition to inflow and precipitation from its own catchment, it receives water from the Uksan reservoir via a tunnel and diverts water to Valvan Dam to feed the 72-MW Khopoli Hydro Power Station.
The upper reservoir is proposed atop the Jambhivali-Thoran hillock ranges. Both reservoirs will be used cyclically for storage and generation. Initial filling and annual make-up water for losses will be sourced from the existing Shirawta reservoir.
The state government has said that the project does not warrant displacement of any human habitation, and therefore, a resettlement and rehabilitation plan is not required for this project.
