GREEN MINUTE NEWS:
In response to the PIL filed in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the environmental impact of the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project (PSP), the Central government on Friday (July 10, 2026) submitted the Site Inspection Report (SIR) of a three-member Expert Committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) & MoEFCC which had rejected the 2000 MW project.
The Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project proposed by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), envisages generation of peak-time electricity through pumped storage technology by utilising the existing Talakalale reservoir as the upper reservoir and the Gerusoppa reservoir as the lower reservoir.
The proposed Sharavathi PSP project area lies partly within the Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary and partly within its notified Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), spanning Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts of Karnataka. The project area lies within a biodiversity hotspot and supports several endemic and threatened taxa, the Site Inspection Report stated. And any further construction would affect wildlife movement especially the Lion Tailed Macaques.
The three-member expert committee of the NBWL & MoEFCC had rejected the Sharavathi PSP project lock, stock and barrel. Citing that the environmental consequences of the Sharavathi PSP were huge as it fell not only inside the protected area of Sharavathi Valley Lion Tailed Macaque Sanctuary in the central Western Ghats but also within the ESZ of this sanctuary. Further, the project was located in the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.
INTERIM STAY EXTENDED TILL OCTOBER 1ST
In the background of the Centre submitting the three-member NBWL Expert Committee’s report, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha extended the interim order, strictly prohibiting the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) from undertaking any project activities on the ground.
Earlier on March 10, 2026, the Karnataka High Court had granted an interim stay on Rs 10,240 crore Sharavathi PSP project which fell within the Sharavathi Valley LTM Sanctuary. This sanctuary is home to nearly 30 groups of critically endangered Lion Tailed Macaques. On July 10, 2026, the Karnataka High Court said the interim stay will continue till its next hearing on October 1st. Meanwhile, Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd has asked for time to file its objections to the interim stay.
NBWL EXPERT COMMITTEE REPORT
For the petitioners, the submission of NBWL’ expert committee report by the central govt in the High Court came like a bolt from the blue. Rejecting the Sharavathi PSP, the NBWL’s three-member expert committee in fact, questioned the technical justification for the 2000 MW project within a PA and its ESZ.
The report stated, “The ecological consequences of the project was huge as it would cause severe fragmentation of the habitat of LTM due to felling of thousands of trees. The Lion Tailed Macaques being an arboreal species lived and thrived on these trees in the contiguous stretch of the Sharavathi Valley LTM Sanctuary. And the Sharavathi PSP would sound the death knell for this critically endangered species. Apart from this, the Sharavathi PSP would result in net loss of power generation rather than contributing to the state’s power grid. Further, it would cause huge damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats.”
KARNATAKA GOVT OVER RIDING PEOPLE’S SAY
The public interest litigation was filed six months back by conservationists and environmentalists Akhilesh Chipli, Ravindranath Shanbhog & Manohar Kumar C B. The PIL was filed in the aftermath of the 19th meeting of the Karnataka State Board of Wildlife which gave conditional approval for the project and sent it to NBWL for stage-1 clearance.
This conditional approval for the Sharavathi PSP was given despite complete opposition to the project from local people, farmers, experts, scientists and environmentalists from across the state. In fact, in both the Public Consultations held by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in Shivamogga and Uttar Kannada districts in October 2025, the opposition to the Sharavathi PSP was widespread and thousands of people had registered their total opposition to the project.