Activists up in arms as Sharavathi power project gets green clearance

In a major setback to forest conservation, the 2,000 megawatt hydro power Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project has received clearances for pre-construction activities in the forested areas of Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts. Since the environmental impact of the project is pretty high, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has asked for a detailed and thorough Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study and report as per EIA, 2006, 2009 and also a public consultation involving people, experts, environmentalists and other concerned people.The `4,862 crore underground powerhouse project requires a massive 150 hectares of dense evergreen and semi-evergreen forest lands out of the total 153 hectares. Further, abutting the project, i.....