Environmental dispute intensifies as panel visits Sharavati valley

Shivamogga: A political and environmental face-off has erupted in the Malnad region over the week-long Karnataka tour of Sunil Limaye, a member of the Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The CEC is reviewing critical regional environmental disputes, wildlife management policies and infrastructure clearances across multiple sensitive ecological sites in the state. However, it has been opposed by a group that is claiming there was no notice of the visit and suspected that the tour was quietly orchestrated at the behest of the state govt despite 75,000 public objections filed against a project.

The conflict centres on Limaye’s scheduled June 2 arrival in Shivamogga for an on-site inspection of the controversial 2,000 MW Sharavati Pumped Storage Project alongside officials from the forest department and Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC).

Leading the ‘Rashtrabhakthara Balaga’, former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa slammed the CEC’s move as an underhanded action that bypasses judicial authority. Eshwarappa argued that because the high court of Karnataka has already issued a stay order on the project following a critical report by the Wildlife Board regarding the Singalika (lion-tailed macaque) Wildlife Sanctuary, the CEC’s unannounced site visit is highly questionable and potentially violates ongoing judicial proceedings.