Activists protest against plan to fell trees in Rajasthan’s Shahbad forest for hydro power project

Environmental activists protest against felling 4 lakh trees in Shahbad forest for hydro power plant in Rajasthan.

A group of environmental activists, concerned citizens and the villagers have registered a strong protest against a proposal to fell more than four lakh trees in the biodiversity-rich Shahbad forest situated in Rajasthan’s Baran district for the installation of a hydro power plant. The locals travelled to New Delhi to draw the attention of higher echelons of power to the issue.

The Union government has reportedly given permission to a Hyderabad-based private company to set up the 1,800 MW hydro power plant in 408 acres of the forest land. The locals have pointed out that the felling of trees would destroy the forest and adversely affect the ecology of the area, besides depriving the region’s tribal population of its livelihood.

The people’s delegation met Jhalawar-Baran MP Dushyant Singh and gave him a memorandum on the subject addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prashant Patni, Sarpanch of Kujed village panchayat and a delegation member, said a memorandum was also delivered to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday.

The National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) stated in the memorandum that though the government had given permission to cut down one lakh trees, in reality about four to five lakh trees were planned to be axed.

“If the government is keen to build a hydro power project, it should be done at a place where there is no dense forest. There are areas in Kota and Jhalawar districts where huge mountains of debris and hundreds of feet deep trenches have formed from the stone mines. This land can be reclaimed for installing the hydro power plant,” the memorandum stated.

NACEJ member and environmentalist Neelam Ahluwalia said the Rajasthan High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter in October 2024 and stated that the alternate land for afforestation in Jaisalmer district, situated 712 km away, would absorb only 3,500 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, much lesser than 22.5 lakh metric tonnes being soaked in Shahbad.

“At the present juncture when India is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of global warming and climate change, protecting our carbon sinks and lifelines for clean air and water security is very critical,” Ms. Ahluwalia said.