Expert Panel: Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project Would Cause Irreversible Ecological Harm

In a major setback to the Karnataka government, an expert committee appointed by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has recommended against approving the proposed ₹10,000 crore Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts. The committee also questioned the very rationale of the project, proposed by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).

“The proposed project activities are likely to result in habitat fragmentation, disturbance to wildlife, cumulative stress on forest and riverine ecosystems, and long-term degradation of ecological integrity in an area already under pressure from existing infrastructure. The present proposal lacks compelling technical merit, environmental sustainability, or alignment with public interest. Accordingly, in adherence to statutory conservation mandates, the committee does not recommend its approval,” the committee's report stated.

The report was submitted before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Akhilesh Chipli and two others from Shivamogga. The petitioners have challenged the project, situated within the Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary and its Eco-Sensitive Zone, contending that such a project is barred in a sanctuary area under Section 29 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The committee, comprising NBWL members H.S. Singh, Raman Sukumar, and Shivakumar C.M, Inspector General of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, submitted its report to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change after inspecting the project area between December 27 and 30, 2025.

The panel highlighted that the project area supports the “largest known contiguous population” of the endangered lion-tailed macaque and functions as a critical tiger corridor connecting the Anshi-Dandeli and Bhadra-Kudremukh landscapes.

Interestingly, the panel found that the project “primarily involves temporal shifting of electricity generation rather than contributing to any net increase in power generation.” It noted that the project “generates 2,000 MW of electricity in the night by consuming over 2,500 MW of electricity in the day time. There is no additional generation of electricity but a loss of over 500 MW due to the project as has been proposed.”

The report also criticized the project proposal as “disjointed and incomplete,” stating that several major impact-inducing components were either not mentioned or underplayed. Additionally, it pointed out that the claim in the original proposal that existing power transmission lines would be used for power evacuation was incorrect. “The existing 220 kV transmission lines between Gerusoppa and Talaguppa are incapable of carrying the required pumping load of 2000 MW,” the report stated, adding that KPCL officers informed the panel that existing lines would be dismantled and replaced with new ones.

When assessed holistically, “the limited operational benefit offered by the project seems outweighed by the irreversible ecological, environmental, and social costs involved,” the report concluded.