The Upper Bhavani pumped storage hydro-electric project will also impact the sacred land of the Todas and harm the teeming wildlife in the region, according to an ecologist.
The blasting will occur near the Devar Betta Hill (the Kawnttaihh deity hill in Toda), one of the most sacred hills of the Todas in the Nilgiris. "It is the most pyramidical of all Nilgiri hills and the veritable Mount Meru of our area," says Dr. Tarun Chhabra, an ecologist and expert in Toda culture.
'A sacrilege'
"Blasting around it would be a sacrilege for which future generations would pay the price. The seasonal Toda hamlet Kolimund (Kwehh(r)shy) that was reoccupied this year after a hiatus of almost two decades is located close to the upper storage area," he points out.
"Flooded reservoirs have already destroyed the immense biodiversity of these erstwhile wetlands, and is now threatening the stability of the surrounding pristine hillsides with the large masses of water. The underground blasting will destroy the hillsides whenever extreme rainfall events take place," he adds.
Downstream, the project will affect Badaga villages, like Attuboil, which had already been affected by the Emerald Dam storage. The underground water conductor system runs under the terrain that includes stretches that are open to the sky and host immense and irreplaceable endemic flora species. According to him, they include a number of endemic balsams, such as Impatiens laticornis, Impatiens lawsonii, Impatiens orchioides, and Impatiens nilagirica, all of which are found in a few localised valleys and nowhere else on earth.
"There is no way they can restore the destroyed land. The report mentions compensatory afforestation, something that our pristine grasslands do not need. Besides, the millions-year-old Sholas cannot be restored," he adds.
Important habitat
On the ecological aspects, the Nilgiris-based conservationist, N. Mohanraj, says the project falls in the buffer zone of the Mukurthi National Park, which itself is being considered for being notified as a tiger reserve because of its high population of carnivores. "The National Tiger Conservation Authority itself states that the region is a corridor linking Mudumalai with Silent Valley National Park, and is also an important migratory pathway for elephants," he points out.
Mr. Mohanraj believes that power projects, combined with factors like poaching, have led to the drastic decline in the population of Tahrs in the Nilgiris. "Over the years, populations from Mukurthi have begun expanding to the surrounding regions, including Avalanche, Frog Hill in Gudalur, and Naduvattam; eventually, they could also re-colonise Glenmorgan. But for this to happen, these regions must be kept inviolate and massive infrastructure projects must be opposed and stopped."
Benefits outweigh cost: official
The terms of reference for environmental clearance was approved by the environmental regulatory authorities. Now, the studies are under way. Any measures they suggest to limit the impact on the local ecology will be implemented, says Aneesh Sekhar, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation.