Why in the News?

• Activists protest against the plan to cut trees for a pump storage project in Shahabad forest of Rajasthan .

Key Points:

About the Project:

⇒ Shahpur Pump Storage Project is an off-stream closed loop pump storage project.

⇒ Under this, two reservoirs will be constructed.

⇒ At the same time , water will be pumped from the nearby Kuno river to fill the proposed lower reservoir.

⇒ The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved  Hyderabad-based company Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd to set up the Shahpur Pumped Storage Project in Shahabad Tehsil of Baran district.

⇒ The project covers 624.17 hectares of land in the Kalauni, Baint, and Mungaoli villages.

⇒ Of this, 408 hectares of area is forest.

⇒ The project area falls within the Shahabad Conservation Reserve, which is home to wildlife species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act (WPAA) 2022.

Reasons for protest:

⇒ Under this project, there is a plan to cut more than 4 lakh trees, which will destroy the forest.

⇒ Cutting down trees on such a large scale would have an adverse effect on the climate, and would also stop the absorption of 22.5 lakh metric tons of carbon dioxide that the region absorbs every year.

⇒ The local ecology will be deeply affected and the livelihood of the local residents may also be in danger due to this project.

⇒ Environmentalists say this could cause serious damage to wildlife, flora and rare medicinal herbs .

⇒ Additionally, cutting down trees will lead to soil erosion and may also obstruct important environmental benefits.

⇒ This hydropower project will also adversely impact the movement and welfare of cheetahs introduced from Namibia and South Africa under the Kuno Cheetah Project.

Shahabad Forest:

⇒ The Shahabad forest is rich in biodiversity and is home to protected wildlife species.

⇒ This forest is located in Baran, Rajasthan, very close to the designated habitat for cheetahs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

⇒ The forest area of Shahabad lies between the Madhav National Park and the Cheetah corridor , which would be disrupted by the proposed project.

Kuno River:

• The Kuno River flows through the middle of the Kuno National Park and flows from south to north in Madhya Pradesh.
• This river originates from the Vindhya mountain range and passes through various districts of Madhya Pradesh like Guna, Shivpuri, Sheopur and Morena.
• The Kuno River area is also part of India's famous Cheetah Project, which is located in the Kuno National Park.
• The river supports regional biodiversity and plays a vital role in maintaining environmental balance.

Kuno National Park:

⇒ Kuno National Park (Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh) was established as a wildlife sanctuary in the year 1981 and was upgraded to a national park in the year 2018

Geography:

• It consists mainly of dry deciduous forests and the Kuno River, a major tributary of the Chambal , flows through the park.
• It is situated in the Vindhya mountain range .

Fauna:

• Leopard, striped hyena, Indian wolf, blackbuck, sambar deer, gharial (Kuno River).
• It was selected under the action plan for the introduction of cheetah in India .

Flora:

• The primary tree species are Kardhaai, Khair and Salai.