With the fragile ecology of the Western Ghats in mind, a Union Environment Ministry expert panel has decided that it will not grant final clearances to pumped hydropower projects proposed in the region without site visits to ascertain their impact on the environment. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on river valley and hydroelectric projects, one of the 11 sectoral panels that grant prior environmental permissions, took this decision last week, according to minutes of their meeting held on September 27. The panel noted that the ministry had granted terms of reference (ToR) or preliminary permissions to 15 pumped storage projects (PSPs) in the Western Ghats. The preliminary permissions spell out the scope of the environmental impact assessment studies that are to be carried out for mandatory public hearings before the projects are considered for final environmental clearance. The panel’s decision is significant as some of the PSPs fall in villages identified as eco-sensitive areas in the government’s draft notification on the protection of the Western Ghats. Members of the panel discussed the impact that many PSPs may have on the biodiversity and forests in the fragile Western Ghats and decided that site visits should be carried out to ensure thorough scrutiny, The Indian Express has learnt. “These projects are located in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats and a huge forest area is also involved. The EAC emphasised that, prior to granting environmental clearance or making any recommendations, all pumped storage projects in Western Ghats that have been granted ToR by the Ministry, a site visit shall be carried in toto wherever possible,” the minutes of the EAC meeting stated. The minutes also stated that the EAC had reviewed the ToR for the PSPs proposed to be located in the Western Ghats, and given the region’s high environmental sensitivity, it had previously recommended site visits by sub-committee members for several such projects. PSPs involve two large reservoirs, one at a higher elevation and the other at a lower elevation. During low power demand periods, surplus energy is used to pump up water from the lower reservoir and released back through turbines during high power demand to generate electricity. The central government has pushed for the expansion of PSPs’ capacities to plug the variability of solar and wind energy in the electricity grid. “Pumped storage projects proposed in the Western Ghats entail blasting, tunnelling, diversion of forest land, impact on environmental sensitive areas and some would involve taking water from dams that are already overallocated. In short, there are a range of cumulative impacts of such projects. Considering these issues which are never represented in the proposals, EAC’s site visit is a welcome decision,” said Parineeta Dandekar, associate coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, a research and advocacy group working on sustainable river management. During the meeting last week, the EAC also decided to return a PSP of Adani Green Energy Limited seeking expansion in its capacity. The Warasgaon Warangi pumped storage project in Maharashtra’s Pune and Raigad district was given preliminary permissions in February 2023. However, the company wanted to expand the capacity from 1,200 MW to 1,500 MW. Two villages, Teckpole and Warangi, from Pune and Raigad district, respectively, have been listed as eco-sensitive areas in the draft notification on Western Ghats. Teckpole is home to sacred groves and a fish sanctuary protected by locals, Dandekar said. Prime facie, the panel was of the view that owing to the changes in the project's configuration, it would “attract more impact on the environment.” “The EAC raised its concerns about change in the total forest land required for the project with an increase of more than three times i.e from 24.5 hectares to 88.98 hectares,” the minutes of the panel’s meeting noted. The panel directed the company to submit a fresh proposal for grant of ToR, the official parlance used for the preliminary clearance granted to carry out environment impact assessment studies, among others. “Fresh alternative site analysis modifying the project layout with no obstruction of small rivulets in the area as the small rivulets are the key source of water for the perennial rivers in the Western Ghats,” the minutes of the meeting stated.
