Karnataka High Court again extends stay on KPCL survey in Sharavathi valley

Bengaluru: In what could be called as a relief for the Lion Tailed Macaques (LTM) sanctuary at the Sharavathi valley, where the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) is carrying out survey and geotechnical investigation to pave way for the 2000 MW hydropower project, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday made serious observations about the conduct of the State while granting permission under section 29 of Wildlife Protection (WLP) Act, 1972.

The stay on the ongoing work by the KPCL in the sanctuary will continue till November 4 as the Chief Justice was not satisfied with the response of the State government.

The advocate general submitted that the government will consider the issue of the Section 29 of WLP and the geotechnical survey permission in its entirety and then come back to the High Court. The project has met with severe backlash from the environmentalists and former Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers who claim that the project would be a disaster to the Western Ghats, the oldest biodiversity hotspot that is already reeling under huge catastrophe.

Sreeja Chakraborty is the advocate for the petitioner Edward Santosh Martin, a Ballari-based conservationist that has questioned the legality of carrying out work by the KPCL inside the sanctuary.