Forest Advisory Committee defers Sharavathi PSP proposal by KPCL, seeks clarifications on tree cutting
The KPCL has proposed the project to generate 2,000 MW of power in the Sharavati valley, making use of the Talakalale and the Gerusoppa reservoirs. The KPCL has sought the diversion of 54.155 hectares of forestland for the project with the outlay of ₹10,240 crore.
The advisory committee, in its report on August 7, stated that it had a detailed discussion with the Deputy DGF (Central) of the regional office in Bengaluru, and the nodal officer of the State government. It sought clarifications/information for further considerations on three issues.
NBW meeting
Making a reference to the recommendations of the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBW) in its 84th meeting held on June 26, the committee wanted the status of compliance.
The NBW, in its recommendations, stated that most of the 518 trees in the area where a surge tank had been proposed could be saved if an alternative underground structure was constructed with a narrow opening for an air outlet.
Further, the NBW stated that over 12,000 trees, enumerated for felling for the construction of the 12.3-km road from Nagarabasti Kere to Begodi, could be saved if the proposed underground road was extended up to the base of the pump house. Such modification in the plan could also help the lion-tailed macaque, the flagship species of the sanctuary. The advisory committee wanted the status of compliance with regard to these recommendations.
Besides that, it also sought the State government's comments on the issues raised by the regional office of the MOEF in the site inspection report (SIR). The regional office had not recommended the proposal of the project, citing 15 reasons.
Praneetha Paul, DIGF, who conducted the inspection, expressed concern about the damage the project could cause to the Western Ghats.
Further, the committee had sought the comments of the regional office of Bengaluru on the concerns raised in the SIR.
Protest to intensify
Meanwhile, environmentalists of the Malnad region, opposing the project, have resolved to intensify their protests. A meeting was held in Sagar in this regard on August 11.
Environmentalists Akhilesh Chipli, Shivanand Kugve, Venkatesh Kavalakodu, and others attended the meeting and decided to spread awareness on the impacts of the project among the people in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts.
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The Hindu
11 hours ago
- The Hindu
Forest Advisory Committee defers Sharavathi PSP proposal by KPCL, seeks clarifications on tree cutting
The forest advisory committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has deferred the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) proposal for the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project, seeking clarification with regard to the cutting of trees in the project area. The KPCL has proposed the project to generate 2,000 MW of power in the Sharavati valley, making use of the Talakalale and the Gerusoppa reservoirs. The KPCL has sought the diversion of 54.155 hectares of forestland for the project with the outlay of ₹10,240 crore. The advisory committee, in its report on August 7, stated that it had a detailed discussion with the Deputy DGF (Central) of the regional office in Bengaluru, and the nodal officer of the State government. It sought clarifications/information for further considerations on three issues. NBW meeting Making a reference to the recommendations of the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBW) in its 84th meeting held on June 26, the committee wanted the status of compliance. The NBW, in its recommendations, stated that most of the 518 trees in the area where a surge tank had been proposed could be saved if an alternative underground structure was constructed with a narrow opening for an air outlet. Further, the NBW stated that over 12,000 trees, enumerated for felling for the construction of the 12.3-km road from Nagarabasti Kere to Begodi, could be saved if the proposed underground road was extended up to the base of the pump house. Such modification in the plan could also help the lion-tailed macaque, the flagship species of the sanctuary. The advisory committee wanted the status of compliance with regard to these recommendations. Besides that, it also sought the State government's comments on the issues raised by the regional office of the MOEF in the site inspection report (SIR). The regional office had not recommended the proposal of the project, citing 15 reasons. Praneetha Paul, DIGF, who conducted the inspection, expressed concern about the damage the project could cause to the Western Ghats. Further, the committee had sought the comments of the regional office of Bengaluru on the concerns raised in the SIR. Protest to intensify Meanwhile, environmentalists of the Malnad region, opposing the project, have resolved to intensify their protests. A meeting was held in Sagar in this regard on August 11. Environmentalists Akhilesh Chipli, Shivanand Kugve, Venkatesh Kavalakodu, and others attended the meeting and decided to spread awareness on the impacts of the project among the people in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Second leg of Bihar's poll roll drive throws up stark choices
Under a pewter sky, Mintu Devi is hurrying back home. Charcoal-edged clouds are starting to give way to clots of darkness. In her village of Khak Maksudpur in Bihar's Gopalganj district, this is a warning. Near the horizon, the greys still soften into a faint wash of silver-blue and the river is mellow. But once the ochre hue dissolves, the Gandak river will rage. A special ECI camp in Patna to process claims and objections. (HT Photo) This village – one of hundreds located in sandy riverine islands that flood with alarming regularity – once boasted of more than 1,000 residents. 'But now, only 350 are left. Those of us who cannot go anywhere,' said Mintu, an anganwadi worker. Villages get marooned during the monsoon, often during high tide at night, forcing the able-bodied to scurry to the embankment or the highway. It takes grit, and preparation, to live here. 'But for us poor, where is the choice between dukh (sorrow) and sukh (happiness)?' she asked. Her days are stacked with chores. Her husband and three sons head out at sunrise, and she walks down to the anganwadi after cooking for the family. She was lucky to have been home when enumeration forms for the special intensive revision (SIR) were distributed last month, but the seasonal distress migration ensured that hundreds weren't. In this booth, out of 840 registered voters, 398 were considered shifted and eight dead, chalking up an exclusion rate of nearly 50%. The poorly lettered family depended on the BLO (booth level officer) to fill their form and submit it. But now, the officials are back, demanding documents. 'We stand in line at the block office everyday but they keep asking us to come back. We don't know when our niwasi (permanent residence certificate) will come,' Mintu said. 'What is being asked for is very difficult.' Across the village dominated by fisherfolk and farm labourers from the extremely backward classes (EBCs), the same complaint echoed. Indrapal Prasad said the BLO wasn't clear that mere Aadhaar won't do and more documents were needed. Mamdeo Prasad complained that the village chief Bindu Devi wasn't available to issue letters on the panchayat letterhead. And assistant BLO Chanda Eram confirmed that the verification process, which should have begun long ago, was flagging because she could collect documents from only two to three people everyday. 'Everyone here is very backward and many have migrated. Many keep asking why the documents were being asked for. They're not able to understand anything,' she said. The chaos engulfing Khak Maksudpur is a microcosm of the anxiety coursing through the Bihar countryside as the second phase of SIR draws to a close later this month. The Election Commission of India (ECI) published the poll-bound state's draft roll on August 1, dropping 6.56 million names. It sparked a political controversy and is being heard by the Supreme Court. Travelling across five districts that registered the highest share or total number of exclusions, HT drew the following conclusions : One, the decision to prioritise collection of forms, even without supporting documents, in the first phase meant that many people (and BLOs) are now racing against time to affix proof; two, verification is uneven across districts and even absent in many; three, there is very little participation of political party agents in the process and negligible objections filed despite all the noise being created in Parliament and outside it; four, it is seasonal and climate migrants who face greater risk of their name not making it to the final roll than economic migrants; five, women are particularly vulnerable because they've been asked to trace their patriarchal lineage; six, the largest exclusions under the opaque ASD (absent, shifted, death) category have happened through word-of-mouth inquiries by BLOs, not documented processes; seven, while there is no clear pattern in the exclusions, local vagaries (such as flood migrants in Gopalganj) appear to account for the maximum chunk; eight, the cottage industry fixes adopted by migrants in other states to send photocopies of their documents has largely worked; nine, the narrative about undocumented immigrants and Bangladeshis has largely evaporated, given the significant exclusions in non-border districts; and ten, there is significant apprehension in non-Dalit Hindu neighbourhoods and in interior districts about the lack of formal documentation, far more than in Muslim neighbourhoods and border districts. An uneven process The SIR was announced in June and commenced on July 1, when BLOs went door-to-door to physically verify the identity of each elector by authenticating one of 11 listed documents, which left out the most-common Aadhaar, PAN or ration cards as authenticators. Each person got a partially pre-filled form, and had to affix their photograph, fill in their birth date, Aadhaar number , and mobile number. They also had to provide details of dependents and provide their Voter ID (or EPIC) numbers, if these were available. Their own names, addresses and EPIC numbers came pre-filled. The deadline for form submission was July 25. Those with their names in the 2003 voter roll could just cite that extract and among those who weren't in the 2003 roll, there are three buckets – those born before 1987 can just give their own identity proof, those born between 1987 and 2004 have to provide their own proof plus documents of either parent, and those born after 2004 will have to provide documents for themselves as well as both parents. The BLOs – most of them government school teachers – then uploaded the forms as well the supporting documents on an ECI app. The August 1 draft trimmed the Bihar electorate to 72.4 million people from 78.9 million earlier, removing 6.56 million names on account of ASD – absent, shifted or dead. ECI has refused to publish a consolidated list of these ASD cases, saying it shared local lists with political parties on the ground. HT's review of enumeration forms and interviews with BLOs and villagers across Kishanganj, Purnia, Araria, Gopalganj and Patna showed that in most cases, BLOs had filled the forms in haste , taking calls on those marked ASD on the basis of their local knowledge and testimonies from neighbours. As the demography of the constituency became more rural, voters appeared to not know whether their names had actually appeared in the draft roll, or if they needed to submit more documents. 'BLO sahab has not contacted us since August 1, so I have no idea if my name has been cut,' said Mohammad Shamshad in Kishanganj. In Danapur, BLO Jitender Kumar said while he was out distributing forms, he marked houses where no one was present to receive forms. His colleague Rishikesh Kumar said he pasted stickers on doors where people didn't respond to his repeated visits. 'Plus, we are locals, we know who has died and who has shifted . We also based our recommendation on the basis of what neighbours told us,' he said. In Kochadhaman, BLO Hari Shankar Pandit admitted that no documentary proof of death or migration was sought. 'I am from the village so I know who has died, who has got married and who has left the village. In many cases, there was no certificate so we got something signed by relatives,' he said. Another BLO, Mohammad Sarwar, concurred. 'These are remote areas and people face many problems in getting any documents. Many people told us they didn't have death certificates at all. We tried a lot but what could we do, there was a paucity of time.' In 2022, Bihar recorded a death registration of around 57%, according to a comparison of civil registration numbers with survey-based sample registration numbers. More tricky are the categories of shifted or absent, in a state where internal and distress migration are common. In Araria, Anita Devi said both she and her husband missed the BLO and now didn't know if their names were in the roll. In rural Patna's Baank village, Mohammad Rustam and his wife Taiyaba Khatun left their ancestral village in Danapur 22 years ago but haven't found their name in the draft roll in Baank. 'But we have nothing left back in Danapur, so how do we check if my name is there?' asked Rustam. Their lives are made more difficult because applications for the most popular document, the awasiya or niwasi (permanent residence certificate), has been temporarily blocked by some officers in Kishanganj, Purnia and Gopalganj districts. A senior official told HT that a temporary hold was put on new certificates due to the nearly tenfold rise in applications. 'How do we attach any proof if the BDO says wait 10 days before niwasi is processed again?' asked Mohammad Ashfaq in Bishanpur village. In this melee, the humble government schoolteacher has zoomed in social standing and respect, hemmed in only by the pressure by locals to get their names in, and the never-ending field visits. As BLOs, they are the conduit between the faceless ECI and the ordinary citizen, filling forms, guiding people on which document is in and which is out, accepting or rejecting proof, and finally recommending a person's inclusion or exclusion from the voter roll. 'Us BLOs have a lot of power,' said Kumar. The Kumari conundrum An undulating mud track runs from Kuchaikote town to a village called simply as Naya Tola or new neighbourhood. Here, hundreds of people have settled over the past few years, moving away from dwellings now engulfed by the rampaging river. The assembly constituency – which saw the second highest share of deletions in the state – has been held by the ruling Janata Dal (United) for 15 years. As the BLO walked into the village, he was swarmed by villagers. Ramprit Prasad submitted his form with a photocopy of his Aadhaar card, but now has been told that the British-era land document – or Khatian – needs to be in his name, not just in his ancestors. 'I am a labourer and don't know how to read. If I go to the office, I'll lose a day's pay. How will I get any paper issued?' he asked. A group of women drowned his complaints. Rinku Devi was indignant that her husband Hareram Prasad's name was in the draft roll but not hers because her parents had not responded to her requests for a certificate. Girija Devi was worried that she has no documents to append because she was never sent to school, and therefore, her supply of ration would stop. And Madhuri Devi was incensed that she was having to listen to taunts in the household every time she brought up the issue of her (non-existent) birth certificate. Their problems are shared by tens of thousands of women, who have been asked by poll officials to prove their bonafides through the patriarchal lineage, not that of the husbands' family. 'There is no doubt that women are facing the biggest problem. Many women are not literate and so don't have birth or matriculation certificates. If it's a boy, we append the documents of the father. But women don't usually get birth or residency certificates made,' said a senior ECI official. 'The problem is also with their surnames – Kumari (unmarried) or Devi (married). If an earlier document has one name and the new one has another, that can create a problem. We have to draw a link with the father, which can be troublesome if the parents are dead or live far away,' the official added. Local vagaries exacerbate this problem. Lalmani Devi pushed her way to the front of the pack of irate women in Naya Tola, brandishing her voter card. The middle-aged woman from a backward caste was born in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district and got married in Kuchaikote – the region is equidistant from UP and Gopalganj – over a decade ago. 'Neither my mother nor my father are alive, and the ancestral home is locked. My husband and two children are here. Where do I get any document from my naihar (father's house)?' she asked. Here, marriages across state lines are common and have never presented a problem before. But now, with Bihar authorities pressing for documents, many women are wondering how to approach either their parents or siblings, or the UP administration for a copy of the family lineage document (known locally as a kutumb register). Girija Devi is one of them. She moved here in 2003 and her husband is refusing to reach out to his in-laws. 'He has told me he doesn't care if my name is deleted but he will not go to meet my father,' she said. Other women said they reached out to their siblings but the sudden communication was viewed with suspicion. 'One relative wondered loudly if I was after the family property and if I was looking to file a case. My brother has said he will not share any property or give me anything in writing. How do I convince them that I just want to remain a citizen?' asked Anita Devi. Their predicament echoes at the other end of the state in the fringes of Araria district. Here, in Kuadi village dominated by extremely backward castes, commerce and relationships transcend the India-Nepal border, marked by three soldiers and a barely marked checkpost under a tree. The asphalt cuts through the landscape with nonchalance and people drift across this line like leaves in a breeze. At a kirana shop, Jasoda Devi is embarrassed after she confuses Indian and Nepali currency, both kept in an untidy bundle in her tiny purse. 'Yes I am Indian and I have voted before. I haven't checked if my name is on the draft roll but my husband Baijnath has assured me.' Sulekha Devi and Milan Devi are less fortunate. Both were both born across the checkpost in Nepal but married cousins Shyam Singh and Jaikrishna Singh in Kuadi. The brothers have found a place in the draft roll but the women have to get documents from Nepal to underline their move across the international border – virtually impossible in the short time frame. Sulekha has been voting for 10 years, Milan for 15, the family said. 'What will happen to us? Will our citizenship get revoked?' one of them asked. Their BLO, Jeet Lal,held bad news for them. 'No, I don't think they will make it past the verification stage. I don't know what'll happen after that.' Verification woes Among the most contentious phases in the SIR is the verification of papers submitted by people. In its tour of districts and block-level special SIR camps, HT found no standard procedure for verification, with some BLOs saying they were still collecting documents and others saying they had already verified papers when they took them from citizens. Not a single objection or claim was filed by a political party at the time of going to print. On the other hand, nearly 14,000 applications for inclusion or exclusion were submitted as of August 13, ECI data showed. Outside the Purnia block camp, a group of BLOs were bringing in sackfuls of application forms. One BLO dismissed the possibility of intensive verification. 'Everyone is known to me, all the details are in my mind. What is the need for more?' the officer asked, requesting anonymity. In Danapur, subdivisional magistrate Divya Shakti – who is also the electoral registration officer – said anyone whose name was missing or who needed to get it added could file applications either online or in the special camps. 'We are asking for self-attested documents. We cannot go into each document for verification, and the responsibility will be fixed on the voter. Unless an objection comes, self attestation will be taken,' she said, signalling that no further verification of documents might be done. BLO Jitender Kumar in Danapur backed her. 'We are already verifying when we take the documents. That's it.' Nearly 45 days have passed since the SIR process began in Bihar. In this month-and-a-half, a lot has shifted on the ground. In Muslim-majority districts such as Kishanganj, many had originally alleged that an influx of undocumented Bangladeshi people would be removed. Yet, that narrative is now largely muted. BLO Sarwar said many poor people had toiled to get their papers. 'Yes there is some struggle for documents but people are trying. And the deletions are not very high in our area,' he said. Confidence has returned to some Muslim neighbourhoods after initial weeks of panic. 'We have been preparing since the NRC protests. We had laminated our documents and have given those photocopies,' said Shamshul Haq, a resident of Bishanpur, referring to the 2018 National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam, and the speculation in 2019-2020 that the exercise would be expanded nationwide. Confidence has returned to the Dalit and Mahadalit neighbourhoods, where a government drive empowering vikas mitras – a state employee who enrols scheduled caste beneficiaries for government schemes – to issue certificates has filled the gap in documentation. 'All our names have come in the draft roll. The BLO took our names from the vikas register,' said Dharamsila Devi, a resident of Tilhari village. And confidence has returned to the families of many migrant workers, where one relative returned home to click photographs of the forms and send it to them via WhatsApp. 'My sons are working in Punjab but I managed to get them to take photos of their documents and send it on WhatsApp. Their names have come,' said Mohammad Javed in Kishanganj. But back in Gopalganj's Khak Maksudpur, confidence is waning among Mintu Devi and her neighbours. Indrapal Prasad is frustrated that he neither has a job nor any steady labour gig, and now has to cycle to Gopalganj town every day to get the certificates made for his family of four. 'We left our earlier home because of river erosion and floods. Now, it seems we'll have to leave this place too.'
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Watch: Elephants cross railway track as AI warning system ensures their safety
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department on Tuesday shared a video of an elephant family crossing the railway tracks, which the department said was made possible due to an AI-powered early warning system that ensures zero elephant deaths. It further noted that the system also consists of 12 towers, 24 cameras, and 25 forest staff to keep watch.(Pixabay/Representational Image) The clip is from Coimbatore's Madukkarai, where elephants can be seen walking calmly across the track. In an X post, the Forest Department said, 'TN proves what's possible when technology meets commitment. In Madukkarai, the AI-powered early warning system has ensured ZERO elephant deaths on rail tracks since November 2023.' It further noted that the system also consists of 12 towers, 24 cameras, and 25 forest staff to keep a watch, which has led to 6,592 safe crossings in the area. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin also took to X to share the vital role of elephants in shaping the heritage of the state on the occasion of World Elephant Day on Tuesday. He said that Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bhupendra Yadav, will visit the AI powered warning system that has led to zero train collisions. "In Coimbatore, the Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bhupendra Yadav, is joining the celebrations and will visit our AI-powered early warning system at Madukkarai, which has enabled over 2,800 safe elephant crossings since February 2024 with zero train collisions," read the X post by CM Stalin. He also spoke about the eco-friendly houses inaugurated for those who care for elephants, saying, "Our Dravidian Model government recently inaugurated the Mahout Village at Theppakadu, featuring eco-friendly houses for mahouts and cavadies who care for these gentle giants. It strengthens the welfare of caregivers while advancing conservation. Let us pledge to keep elephants safe and free for generations to come." World Elephant Day is observed annually on August 12 to promote the conservation and protection of elephants while addressing the growing issue of human-elephant conflict. The day aims to ensure that elephants can thrive without clashes with the human population.
