The proposed installation of eight solar power plants in Jodhpur district’s Phalodi tehsil has led to a major confrontation with the Bishnoi activists, who have strongly protested against the felling of khejri trees. The solar energy companies, which have acquired 25,000-bigha land on lease in the region, have cut down a large number of khejri trees, which is the State tree of Rajasthan.
Though the expansion of solar and wind power projects on the vast desert land in western Rajasthan is set to bring the State to the forefront of power generation, the process of their installation has adversely affected the desert ecosystem. The trees need to be felled to let the solar panels be aligned horizontally for a certain length of space.
The two new entrants in the power sector have provided economic gains to the agriculturists whose land was taken over to install the plants with the payment of cash compensation. While several villagers have welcomed these projects because of their economic benefits, the vast majority of others are bitterly opposed to this new intervention across the semi-arid agricultural fields.
The Bishnoi activists, who have a sentimental attachment with khejri or Prosopis cineraria trees, claim that the solar panels are causing incredible loss to Thar desert’s flora and fauna. Thousands of khejri trees have been chopped off wherever the new solar power plants have been set up. The incident in Phalodi tehsil’s Badi Sid region is the latest one involving a clash with the villagers.
Move opposed
After the solar energy firms cut down the khejri trees and buried them in earth to make the fields plain to set up panels, three organisations of the region joined hands to forge a front for opposing the move. The activists, who had raised the issue for more than four months, held demonstrations for several days outside the fields last month and brought a bulldozer to dig out the trees.
“The impact of new power intervention by private companies on the desert ecosystem is quite visible. The majority of our population depends on the wild vegetation which is getting lost forever for the gains of power plants,” Ramniwas Budhnagar, general secretary of Bishnoi Tiger Force, told The Hindu. He said the evidence of indiscriminate felling of trees in Badi Sid was submitted to the district authorities.
Hundreds of Bishnoi youths and people from other communities gathered to stop the traffic on Phalodi-Bikaner road. Several protesters laid down across the road to press the demand for stopping the destruction of trees and the saints led by Guru Bhagwan Das, representing the Jamba seat of Bishnoi sect, reached the spot to extend their support.
Many detained
However, the police detained several persons, including a Sarpanch, Kailash Bishnoi, on charges of disruption of work of solar plants and the allied sections. The prolonged agitation finally led to an agreement brokered by the administration, in which the solar energy firms were directed to protect khejri trees and translocate them elsewhere if their removal was necessary for installation of the plants.
Phalodi’s Additional Collector Hakam Khan said the companies would plant new trees as compensation for the loss of trees to be cut and action would be taken under the Forest Act for burying the trees in the ground. According to the agreement, cases registered by the firms against the villagers would be investigated in an unbiased manner and security provided to the families staying in the nearby hamlets which had received threats from the interested persons.
The three organisations – Bishnoi Tiger Force, Akhil Bharatiya Bishnoi Mahasabha and Akhil Bharatiya Jeev Raksha Samiti – have since called off the agitation after the signing of agreement. Mr. Budhnagar said the State government should formulate a policy to ensure co-existence of solar energy plants and khejri trees. “A new alignment of panels will be required to be developed that can be tackled easily,” he said.
The solar power plants are being set up in an area measuring about 3.50-lakh bighas, mainly in western parts of the State. Trees have been felled at the places such as Devikot, Rasla, Mulana, Devda, Jhinjhiyali, Myajlar, Ramgarh, Pokhran and other regions of Thar desert.
Important role
Khejri tree plays an important role in maintaining the ecosystem of Thar region because of its ability to survive in dry weather. The tree is used in different ways, such as a source of fodder and firewood, and it helps in sustaining the soil’s nutrient value and ensuring a good yield of desert crops and food plants. Its fruit is used to make the popular dish ‘Sangri’.
