Drawing Power from Water

Activists fret over hydel projects in Western Ghats
Seventy-six mini-hydel projects are under various stages construction in the Western Ghats despite protests by environmentalists.
These projects are coming up in Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka.
Environmentalists say that since the Western Ghats is ecologically sensitive, the Government should be thinking of preserving what is left of it, instead of taking up projects in the region. “We are not against development. The Western Ghats is home to diverse flora and fauna that are being threatened by development projects,” says Kishore Kumar, environmentalist and president of Malenadu Janapara Horata Samiti. Contrary to the claim of government officials, implementation of mini-hydel projects would lead to destruction of large tracts of forest land.
To implement a mini-hydel project, the course of a river has to be diverted. This would involve submersion, a weir has to be constructed, a small township for engineers and other workers has to be built, and transmission lines have to be drawn to transmit power. “For all these activities, forest land usually are claimed, destroyed. The generators used in these projects make a lot of noise. Animals and birds are sensitive to sound and this will drive them further into the forests,” he said.
Implementation of these projects would mean further fragmentation of the elephant corridor. “Man-animal conflict is on the rise in the three districts. When all the projects come up, the animals are bound to stray into human habitat,” says Kishore.
However, a senior official at the Department of Ecology and Environment counters that since at least four departments were involved in giving approval to these mini-hydel projects, all aspects, including environment impact assessment and management plans, have been thoroughly studied and scrutinized.
Indeed, the private agencies taking up these projects had been directed to submit a report once in six months. Power from these projects would either be used for captive generation [self-consumption] or supplied to the grid, he said. The officer claimed that the impact of the mini-hydel projects on the environment was minimal.
Setting up of mini-hydel projects elsewhere would involve huge costs. “There is a natural gradient in the Western Ghats with plenty of water. Why should these natural resources not be used to generate power?” he asks.
—XO bureau