a day ago
Govt. urged to lay 400 kVA Padubidri-Kasaragod power transmission line underground
The Society for Forest, Environment, and Climate Change, Mangaluru, urged the government to lay the 115-km-long 400 kVA power transmission line from Padubidri in Udupi district to Kasaragod in Kerala underground using latest technology in order to save trees and protect environment.
Addressing reporters here on Saturday, Benedict C. Fernandes, the society's secretary, said that such a transmission line has been laid underground in Chennai using the latest technology.
If the line is installed overhead, about 1.78 lakh trees, which are in private properties, will have to be felled. In addition, about 3,000 trees on the government land will have to be cut down, he said, adding that the axing of trees will affect the environment of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, he said.
Mr. Fernandes said that in January, the Forest Department in Dakshina Kannada gave permission for the project proponent to fell trees on the government land. When the society challenged it before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), it stayed the move on August 1.
He claimed that the project proponent has obtained only 'in-principle approval' or stage I clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. 'Final approval or stage II clearance by the Ministry is required before commencing any work on the ground,' Mr. Fernandes said.
The secretary claimed that the project proponent has already erected 35 transmission towers even before obtaining stage II clearance.
'No work can commence just by obtaining stage I clearance on the Parivesh portal for projects that require forest clearance. The stage I clearance signifies that the proposal has been accepted only in principle,' he claimed.
Mr. Fernandes said that if stage II clearance is obtained, the project proponent has to identify farmers who will lose their land to the project and pay them compensation, as per supplementary guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Power on March 21, 2025. As per the guidelines, the compensation amount to be fixed should be the market value of the land, and this has to be decided by a five-member committee headed by the chairman, which, in this case, will be Deputy Commissioner. 'So far no such committee has been formed,' Mr. Fernandes said.
He expressed concern that the radiation that will be emitted by the proposed transmission line would create health issues among people living in the vicinity.
