1L trees to face axe for pvt power project in Rajasthan's Baran district

JAIPUR: Rajasthan govt has approved felling of over 1 lakh trees in Shahabad Conservation Reserve of Baran district for the construction of an 1,800MW private power project in a drive flagged as a potential environmental catastrophe.

Alarmed environmentalists and foresters said the desert state had not seen felling on such a massive scale as the one planned in Baran district. The deforestation for the 1,800MW pumped storage project could significantly impact the state's already limited green cover at 9.60% of its total area.

A senior forest official said the Centre's forest advisory committee (FAC) had granted in-principle approval this March for the project on 400 hectares of forest land. "Of the 119,759 trees in the project area, 100,950 will be felled," the official said.

The state had notified the new 17,884-hectare reserve in Sept 2022.

'Felling might hamper interstate cheetah conservation efforts'
Jaipur: This region is considered unique due to its rare biodiversity. It is home to 802 species of trees and plants, besides leopards, hyenas and other wildlife.

Environmentalists have alleged that after destroying the pristine forest in Rajasthan, alternative land for compensatory afforestation has been identified in Jaisalmer - an area where rich biodiversity like in Shahabad cannot regenerate.

The area is also only 15km from Kuno National Park in neighbouring MP. Officials and environmentalists fear the felling might hamper interstate cheetah conservation efforts.

"The conservation reserve is located between Madhav National Park and Kuno National Park. This region was recently highlighted in the Project Cheetah report, released on Sept 17, as part of an interstate cheetah conservation complex. A (Kuno) cheetah crossed the border and reached this region a few months back," a senior official said.

Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, a lawyer who takes up environment-related cases, questioned the project's clearance. "It appears the project is being driven by political pressure and not for any public benefit," Bhati said.

The lawyer also argued that compensatory afforestation in arid Jaisalmer would not undo the damage. "This area (Jaisalmer) lacks adequate water resources and climate conditions are not similar (to Shahabad)," Bhati said.

Asked about the matter, head of forest forces (HoFF) Arijeet Banerjee said: "I have no knowledge of the project as it was conceived before my joining."