Don’t let power generation eat up Western Ghat forests

Conservationists are worried about the large number of mini hydel projects coming up in the Western Ghats. Experts point that a total of 72 mini-hydel projects have been permitted by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Authority in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. Already, 20 of these projects have been commissioned. The impact on wildlife and forests could be disastrous.

According to Sanjay Gubbi, assistant director (conservation science and policy), Wildlife Conservation Society, India Programme, the claim that mini-hydel projects deliver green energy is highly questionable. He said that the projects will dot the various streams and rivers flowing through the Western Ghats.

Once all these projects are commissioned, it is almost certain that the river, will have no water left in the summer, affecting flora and fauna and also people who are dependent on it for drinking and farming.

There is also the possibility that the Western Ghats house a huge wealth of flora and fauna that scientists have still to discover. In the past three years, 14 species of frogs, one species of fish and five species of insects were discovered in the fresh waters in the Ghats. Several roads have been laid through evergreen forests, cutting down thousands of trees. This could ruin the natural habitat of the many rare species in the region.