PANAJI
The proposed Tamnar Inter-State Power Transmission Project has secured in-principle approval for diversion of more than 251 hectares of forest land across Goa and Karnataka, clearing a major hurdle for the high-voltage transmission line connecting the two States.
The Regional Empowered Committee (REC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, at its meeting held on July 30, recommended diversion of 76.998 ha of forest land in Goa and 174.652 ha in Karnataka, subject to compliance with several conditions aimed at minimising ecological damage.
In Goa, the diversion includes 49.906 hectares in North Goa Forest Division and 27.092 hectares in the Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park and Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary, of which 12.4464 hectares fall inside the protected area. The transmission line will pass through Collem, Mollem and Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary in Dharbandora taluka.
In Karnataka, the proposal covers 174.652 hectares of reserved forest spread across Belagavi, Dharwad, Haliyal and Dandeli Wildlife (Kali Tiger Reserve) divisions, traversing 24 villages, with 74.652 hectares required for the actual transmission line corridor.
The project will involve the enumeration of about 7,461 trees in Goa and 72,817 in Karnataka.
The project comprises a 19.444-km transmission line with a 46-metre Right of Way (RoW) and 55 transmission towers, of which 48 towers fall within forest and wildlife areas in Goa.
For compensatory afforestation (CA), Goa had initially proposed 300 hectares of degraded forest land in Karwar, Gopshitta and Ankola ranges of Uttara Kannada district. However, after scrutiny, the proposal was revised to 155 hectares of degraded forest land in Gadag district, with the REC directing Karnataka's Forest Department to conduct a fresh site inspection to verify its suitability. If found unsuitable, an alternative degraded forest land will have to be identified.
While recommending the proposal, the committee imposed several safeguards. In Goa, it directed that tree felling be restricted to the bare minimum, the user agency prepare a biodiversity management plan in consultation with the State Forest Department, and strictly comply with all conditions stipulated by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife.
The REC also sought additional project details, including a component-wise breakup of the transmission line, number of towers, right-of-way width and alignment through forest areas before the final approval process.
Further, the user agency has been asked to prepare a site-specific Wildlife Mitigation Plan, approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden, and a Soil and Moisture Conservation Plan to address erosion, habitat disturbance and siltation of perennial streams. It has also been directed to prepare a plantation plan for dwarf and preferably medicinal tree species beneath the transmission corridor.
The REC additionally instructed the Goa Forest Department to act against reported encroachment on a portion of the proposed forest land in Dharbandora and ensure its protection from future encroachments.
In Karnataka, the committee called for additional mitigation measures to minimise ecological impacts, particularly in wildlife-sensitive stretches, besides ensuring compliance with compensatory afforestation and other statutory conditions.
Last week, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) had recommended granting wildlife clearance for the diversion of over 40 ha of land in the buffer area of Karnataka's Kali Tiger Reserve. The committee approved the proposal for the use of 40.775 ha of land, including 32.026 ha of forest land and 8.749 ha of non-forest land, for the loop-in loop-out (LILO) of one circuit of the existing Narendra–Narendra 400 kV double-circuit quad transmission line in Uttara Kannada district.
