If electrification of tribal settlements located deep inside the forests remained a near-impossible task for the government, things have now taken a turn. Communities residing in such isolated settlements not only generate their own electricity, but even sell the excess electricity to the Kerala State Electricity Board.
At the initiative of the Forest Department, the process has already commenced. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Forest Management) K.J. Varughese told The Hindu that things were progressing to such an extent that the Kani tribes residing in the Mangayam hamlet in the Palode forest range of Thiruvananthauram district would soon be in a position to sell electricity to the KSEB.
From Thayanamkudy
It all began from the tribal hamlet of Thayanamkudy deep inside the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Because of terrain conditions, laying feeder lines or underground cables to take electricity to Thayanamkudy was out of the question. G. Prasad, Wildlife Warden of the Eravikulam National Park, said that Thayanamkudy had perennial streams with a lush flow round the year.
It made the forest officers think on the lines of tapping those water sources to meet the energy needs of that settlement. The project report in this connection was prepared by Chinnar Range Officer P.M. Prabhu and soon in association with the Energy Management Centre (EMC), a small hydro-electric generation station became a reality in September last year.
Mr. Prabhu said that the 3 kilowatt generation unit there now supplied electricity to 63 families at Thayanamkudy apart from lighting 10 street lights and a community hall. The total project cost was ₹8.5 lakh and the Forest Department contribution was ₹5.5 lakh. The rest was subsidy from the EMC.
In more hamlets
Mr. Varughese said that following the success at Thayanamkudy, similar small-generation units were established to light up the tribal hamlets at Mangapara under the Mangulam range and also at Marayur.
At least 15 tribal hamlets across the State had been identified as having the potential to generate their own electricity by constructing a small generation unit.
Forests not destroyed
At Palode, it is a .1 megawatt unit which will also feed a local ecotourism project there and also be in a position to sell the excess generation to the KSEB. He said that such units generated power without destroying even one square metre of forests and at the same time brighten up life for forest dwellers.
