Environment activists have welcomed the State government’s decision to reject the proposal of Goa government to draw a power transmission line through the Western Ghats forests.
The neighbouring State placed a proposal for the Goa-Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL) to draw a power transmission line through the thick natural forests in Karnataka a part of which lie in Belagavi district.
The Siddaramaiah government has, instead, directed the executing agency to draw the line through non-forest areas. Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed senior officers to reject the proposal.
The State government has also taken action against Forest Department officials in Dharwad and Uttara Kannada who recommended the project without considering the destruction of forests.
GTTPL sought permission from Karnataka to divert a significant amount of forest land, including some inside the Kali Tiger Reserve, to lay the line from Tamnar in Chhattisgarh.
The proposed alignment of the transmission line would have passed through three districts in Karnataka, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi and Dharwad, before reaching South Goa.
Karnataka objected to this. Following the objection, GTTPL has now submitted a realignment plan to avoid dense forests.
According to an assessment by the ground officer, the proposal for diverting 174.65 hectares of forest land under the Forest Act 1980 was submitted to the Additional Chief Secretary, Forest Department, by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for consideration.
“We welcome the State government’s decision. It is very important to preserve the original character of the Western Ghats,” said wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni. He had written to the State government against the proposal when it was initially submitted.
