Releasing a corporate sustainability report in Bengaluru recently, Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ishwar B. Khandre made a profound observation: “If there is greenery, there is life; If there are forests then there is future.
Such lofty statements mask the negative consequences of policy decisions that are contrary to conservation. The irony is that the same department which is headed by Mr. Khandre has taken decisions that endanger the environment and ecology.
Be it the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project in Shivamogga or the micro hydropower projects in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar, the U-turn on the Goa-Tamanar power project, or the failure to clear forest encroachments, the state’s policy is inconsistent with its stated intention of forest conservation. Activists realize a pattern in decision making that prioritizes infrastructure over the environment, which jeopardizes ecological integrity.
Infra projects galore
The Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project threatens to submerge large swathes of evergreen forest in one of the few remaining biodiversity-rich landscapes of the Western Ghats.
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) is promoting a 2,000 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric facility. The project site is in an ecologically fragile and sensitive area. The plan requires 42.51 hectares (105.05 acres) of forest land and 60.53 hectares (149.57 acres) of non-forest land from the Sharavati Valley Lion-tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary.
This is in addition to the 11.64 hectares (28.76 acres) of forest land and 28.074 hectares (69.37 acres) of non-forest land proposed to be acquired from the eco-sensitive buffer zone of the sanctuary. The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given ‘in-principle’ approval for the project, for which the Government of Karnataka and the State Wildlife Board have given their consent.
The Sharavati Valley is part of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, and harbors many endemic and endangered species. It contains an estimated 700 lion-tailed macaques, which are among the world’s rarest primates.
Although some members of the NBWL made weak attempts to oppose the project and questioned its economic feasibility, such objections were brushed aside.
As if to reduce the negative environmental impact, a number of ‘mitigation measures’ are being included in the project, and they are merely cosmetic in nature, failing to reduce the ecological damage.
Public movement is going on against Sharavati project. Activists under the banner of ‘Perisarakkagi Naavu’ or People for Environment held a meeting in Bengaluru on 11 October to express their opposition to the project. He pointed out that not all projects promoted under the banner of ‘renewables’ are inherently sustainable or ecologically sound.
Protesting both the Sharavati and Varahi pumped storage plans, citizens resolved that not only should they be scrapped, but any future renewable energy planning should respect the ecological integrity of the site.
Small Hydroelectric Projects
Three mini-hydropower projects have been proposed within the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district. If approved, they are bound to pose a threat to wildlife movement, apart from disturbing the river ecosystem. Although the Karnataka government has not yet approved them, questions are being raised as to why such proposals are not rejected outright.
One of these is renewal of diversion of 4.863 hectares of land for the Ranganathaswamy mini hydel project by Pioneer Power Corporation, a fresh diversion for the Bharachukki 2×2.5 MW mini hydel project by Madhyaranga Energy Pvt Ltd, and part of the same land for a 24.5 MW project by Balaji Cauvery Power Pvt Ltd. Re-diversion of.
Although the extent of land conversion may seem small and insignificant when viewed in isolation, such projects collectively have widespread negative impacts. In the long run. According to wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni, they will undermine the ecological integrity of the surrounding landscape.
death of six tigers
The imperative to oppose these proposals also stems from the recent tiger deaths – five in June 2025 and another in October – all of which are a direct result of retaliatory killings linked to the increasing human-wildlife conflict in the MM Hills-Kaveri WLS landscape.
Such conflicts arise from habitat loss, disruption of prey-predator dynamics and human encroachment, Kulkarni said in a memorandum to the forest department.
Activists have urged the government to take a strong stance against such proposals as, according to them, ‘mini hydropower projects’, despite their name, cause major ecological damage through felling of trees, hindering wildlife movement, creating habitat fragmentation.
Incidentally, the Karnataka Elephant Task Force, which was formed in 2012 as per the orders of the Karnataka High Court, said in its report that key elephant habitats, including protected areas like the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and the BRT Tiger Reserve, are covered under various leases and other concessions on forest land.
The task force suggested making an inventory of such concessions and leases within the designated forests and time-bound restoration of the land as elephant habitat after initiating the necessary process. Activists have argued that extending existing leases or issuing new permits for projects is no way to restore elephant habitat.
transmission line project
Regarding the Goa-Tamanar 400 KV D/C Quad Transmission Line project, the government has reversed its own decision. The project proposes to connect the existing power grid at Narendra in Dharwad district with Zeldem in Goa through a 94 km transmission line.
About 72 km of the proposed transmission line is to be laid in the forests of Karnataka. It comprises a 6.6 kilometer stretch through the Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve, one of the most sensitive wildlife habitats in the Western Ghats.
The project requires diversion of 177.091 hectares of forest land spread across Dharwad, Belagavi and Uttara Kannada districts and cutting of over 62,000 trees as per the government’s own admission.
In March 2024, Mr Khandre had cautioned officials against putting such projects on the table for approval.
But recently, the forest department took a U-turn on the original decision, and has asked the project proponents to modify the proposal with restructuring of the line and other mitigation measures.
Hubli-Ankola Line
The state government’s dilemma over the Hubli-Ankola railway line and its failure to take any concrete decision against it is also fraught with danger, as large stretches of ancient forests in the Western Ghats will be fragmented and have widespread negative impacts on the environment.
These, and many such projects, will not only accelerate fragmentation but also increase conflict while undermining the ecological sustainability of critical forest areas.
According to government data, 48 people lost their lives due to elephant attacks in Karnataka during 2023-24, while 29 people lost their lives in 2022-23. 27 humans died in 2021-22 and 160 people died in elephant attacks between 2019-20 and 2023-24. Between 2021 and 2024, 12 people died in tiger attacks.
The forest department’s e-Parihara dashboard shows that 35,580 conflicts were registered during 2024-25, in which claims were made and Rs 21.61 crore was given as ex-gratia. Of the 35,580 conflict incidents, 22,483 cases were related to elephant attacks alone, followed by 6,226 cases related to wild boars, 3,738 cases related to leopard attacks, and 554 cases related to tiger attacks.
These conflict incidents are a result of sanctioning of infrastructure projects in ecologically sensitive areas, as well as encroachment, leading to shrinking forest cover and increasing man-animal conflict in villages adjacent to forest borders. And it is local and marginalized communities who bear the brunt of policy contradictions that are detrimental to environmental protection.
encroachment cases
Forest encroachment is further exacerbating conflict and habitat disturbance. There are heaps of such cases all over Karnataka. The forest department’s annual report for 2024-25 shows that as of March 31, 2025, 44,812 cases of encroachment were pending across Karnataka. This includes 559 new cases added during 2024-25, raising concerns over declining forest cover and habitat fragmentation.
In Bengaluru division alone, there are 4,849 cases of forest encroachment in areas falling under Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Kolar, Chikkaballapura districts and Bannerghatta National Park. But the number of encroachments removed across Karnataka during the year was 243.
High number of clashes in Bengaluru circle
Given the extent of encroachment, the number of conflicts is also high in Bengaluru circle. 8,149 cases of crop damage were recorded during 2024-25, besides 1,123 cases of cattle killing, while 4,940 cases of cattle killing due to wild animal attacks were recorded across the state.
The forest cover in Karnataka covers an area of 40,678.23 sq km, which is 21.21% of its geographical area of 1,91,791 sq km. According to the annual report of the Forest Department of Karnataka, the percentage of forest area in the geographical area was 22.64% in 2018-19.
Over the years the use of forest land for infrastructure purposes has been destroying the existing green cover.
As of March 31, 2024, 807 projects involving transfer of 32,422.55 hectares, or 80,116.5 acres of forest land for non-forestry purposes, were approved. This includes 72 irrigation projects, 148 mining and allied projects, 83 road works, 19 railway projects and 129 transmission line projects.
During 2024-25, an additional 143 projects were approved and 277.03 hectares, or about 684.5 acres of forest land, was diverted for non-forestry purposes. This includes three for mining and allied category and two for transmission lines.
community support
Conservation in the Indian context also means balancing community needs with forest conservation, which requires local support and participation. But with rising human deaths and crop destruction, local community support for conservation is disappearing, which bodes badly for wildlife conservation.
Concerns about government stability and conservation have increased in recent years, as have ecological imbalances and tensions over land, as evidenced by official statistics.
