7 months ago
3
Despite the State Forest Department taking efforts successful caller years to support and conserve the Nilgiri Tahr, the State animal, a projected hydroelectric task could chopped done the bosom of the Tahr’s domain successful the precocious Nilgiris.
The ₹5,000 crore project, to beryllium undertaken by NTECL - a associated task institution betwixt Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), volition adhd 1,000 MW to the State’s energy grid. In the pipeline for implicit a decade, the task envisages the pumping of h2o betwixt the 2 existing reservoirs successful Upper Bhavani and Avalanche done underground tunnels to make energy to assistance proviso the State’s vigor grid during highest request hours, officials from TNPDCL said.
As per the pre-feasibility survey study for the project, released by the NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Limited, tunnels including a headrace passageway much than 5 km successful magnitude and a tailrace passageway of much than 1.5 km are to beryllium bored into the hillocks successful Avalanche successful the Nilgiris wood part that would widen close to the borderline of the Mukurthi National Park.
“At present, the NTPC and TNPDCL person been granted support to behaviour drilling astatine a fewer sites to trial the suitability of the ungraded and the stone for the project,” said S. Gowtham, Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris division).
Asked astir the value of the country to wildlife, Mr. Gowtham said the areas surrounding Mukurthi National Park, including Avalanche, Naduvattam and Korakundha unneurotic encompass a immense tract of unbroken wood area. “The portion serves arsenic a situation for a precise precocious colonisation of tigers arsenic good arsenic for herds of Nilgiri tahr and the aureate jackal,” helium said, adding that the country was besides comparatively escaped of invasive species, making it an highly apt situation for Tahr colonisation from Mukurthi to grow into.
Geologically delicate region
Restoration practitioner Godwin Vasanth Bosco, said the portion was highly ecologically-sensitive and that immoderate projects connected specified a standard could massively destabilise the existing upland ecosystem.
In 2019, the country recorded the highest magnitude of rainfall implicit a 24-hour play successful Tamil Nadu since upwind records began, with 820 mm of rainfall being concentrated successful a tiny country measuring 20 quadrate km. The ensuing landslips led to the Avalanche powerfulness location being knocked offline for months.
Gokul Halan, a hydro-ecologist based retired of the Nilgiris, said: “The country is known for being prone to landslips. In 2019, determination were hundreds of landslips caused by dense rains. Underground tunnelling volition pb to de-stabilisation of the slopes owed to the blasting enactment that volition person to beryllium undertaken, threatening the integrity of the full hill-complex itself,” said Mr. Halan.
Aneesh Sekhar, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation, said: “In the Upper Bhavani Pumped Storage Hydroelectricity Project, the 2 reservoirs of Upper Bhavani and Avalanche are already existing. Then determination is this conducting strategy connecting the 2 reservoirs, which volition beryllium mostly underground. The lone spot wherever determination volition beryllium immoderate minimal interaction supra crushed volition beryllium wherever we person entree to the precocious and little intakes, wherever we volition person to enactment immoderate roads, maybe. The elaborate appraisal is going on,” helium said, adding that radical should measurement up the benefits of the project.
Head of the Tamil Nadu State Forest Service Srinivas Reddy, said that helium would not beryllium capable to remark astir the task astatine the existent stage. “We person not received immoderate connection for the project. I volition beryllium capable to remark lone aft going done the proposal,” helium said.
