**"Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part I - 15.2 Athirappilly and Gundia Hydel projects : .

Opinion
    06/10/2018
              1447
**"Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part I - 15.2 Athirappilly and Gundia Hydel projects : .

15.2 Gundia hydroelectric project

The Project :-

*THe Expert Appraisal Committee at the project site flanked by local farmers, MJHS members and three memebrs of KPCL.

Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has proposed a hydro-electric project in the Gundia River Basin in the Hassan and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka state to generate 200 MW of power (613 MU). Three stages have been proposed for development of this project – the first stage would include utilization of water from Yettinahole, Kerihole, Hongadahalla and Bettakumari streams covering a catchment area of 178.5 km2, the second stage would include Kumaradhara and Lingathhole covering 78 km2 of catchment area and the third stage would involve six streams including Kumarahole and Abilbiruhole covering a catchment area of 70 km2.
The total catchment area of all the streams contemplated for power development is 323.5 sq. km with an average annual yield of 975 Mcum. The area is proposed to be developed in two phases.

Phase I :  is proposed to be developed initially which will include pooling of waters by linking Yettinahole, Kerihole, Hongadahalla and Bettakumari. Small weirs/dams across these would be built to intercept the flows in the streams and this water will be drawn through a tunnel running from Yettinahole leading to Bettakumari reservoir. From the foreshores of this reservoir, water will be led to an underground powerhouse through a 7.8 km long head race tunnel opening into a surge tank. From this tank, water will be lead through a 850 m long pressure shaft bifurcating into two penstocks and an underground powerhouse. The proposed installed capacity of the powerhouse is two units of 200 MW each (400 MW).

Phase II : contemplates two tunnels – one taking the waters of Kadumanehalla and surrounding areas through a 13 km long unlined tunnel to the tunnel starting from Yettinahole weir, while the other will bring the waters of Lingathhole and Kumaradhara to Bettakumari reservoir through a 15 km long unlined tunnel. In the second phase, only small weirs of about 5 m height are proposed for diversion of waters. With the completion of Phase I of the project, the annual energy generation in a 90% dependable year will be 653 MU whereas the estimated annual energy generation for the ultimate implementation in a 90% dependable year from this project will be 1136 MU. The basic cost of the project for Phase-I only including obligatory works of Phase-II works out to be Rs. 926.50 crores at high tension (HT) bus.

Table 7 provides the salient features of the project : -

Table 7 Salient features of the proposed Gundia Hydroelectric project :-

                Yettinahole   Weir Kerihole       Weir Hongadhalla           Weir Bettakumari Dam

Latitude   12°51’40‛     12°50’03‛                12°49’29‛                           12°47’09‛
Longitude 75°43’20‛     75°42’44‛                    75°42’23‛                      75°40’10‛
Catchment area 60.50 km2 27.00 km2 8.50 km2 35.00 km2 2
Full Reservoir Level (FRL) EL 750 m EL 763 m EL 745 m EL 740 m
Riverbed Level EL 738 m EL 758 m EL 730 m EL 720 m
Intake Weir Level EL 743.50 m EL 759.40 m - EL 681 m
Type of Dam Concrete Concrete Composite Composite
Height of Dam 15 m 8 m 32 m 62 m
Length of Dam at top 80 m 68 m 152.40 m 575 m
Spillway and Number of Gates 36 m length, 3 gates of 10 x 8 m size 53 m length,
over flow type 60 m length, 4 gates of 12 x 10 m size 45m length, 3 gates of 12 x 10 m size
Design inflow 525 cumecs 360 cumecs 1544 cumecs 954 cumecs'

Yettinahole Weir Kerihole Weir Hongadhalla Weir Bettakumari Dam flood Average yield 163 Mcum 86 Mcum 28 Mcum 120 Mcum Area under submersion 11.54 Ha 0.09 Ha 40 Ha 133 Ha Access and deviation roads (length 100 km, width 10m): 100 Ha Dams, power house and other structures: 170 Ha Other uses (including quarry, field office, material stack, yard, etc.): 15 Ha Excavated tunnel muck dump, stock yard: 275 Ha Please note that these submersion areas do not include the HONGADAHALLA dam (523.80 ha) which has reportedly been cancelled. UNDERGROUND POWER HOUSE Type of turbines Francis turbine Installed capacity 200 MW Approach tunnel to UGPH 965 m ‘D’- shaped 7 m dia ENERGY Average annual energy 1136 MU (90% dependable) COST Total basic cost of the project Rs 926.50 crores

Background :-

Government of Karnataka (GOK) allotted the Gundia Hydro-Electric Project (GHEP) to Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) on 06-10-1998. Since then, KPCL obtained clearances from a number of state and central government departments including the Fisheries Department, GOK (letter dated 28-09-2006), Department of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India, GOI (letter dated 10-03-2008), and Directorate of Health & Family Welfare Services, GOK (letter dated 16-04-2008). The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) accorded concurrence to the project vide their letter dated 25-04-2008. KPCL also obtained the approval from the Water Resources Department, GOK (letter dated 02-05-2008) and approval for land availability from Government of Karnataka (letter dated 06-06-2008). No objection to the proposed project was received from the Ministry of Defence, GOI, through a letter dated 07-07-2009.

A public hearing was conducted at Hongadahalla in Sakleshpura taluk of Hassan district on 06-06-2008 where representatives of the District Administrations of Hassan District and Dakshina Kannada District along with people affected by the proposed project were present and expressed their views on the proposed project. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) submitted a copy of the proceedings of the public hearing along with a letter dated 27-09-2008 to Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI. KPCL also submitted a Comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment (CEIA) report to MoEF on 05/06-11-2008. The 20th meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of MoEF was held on 21-11-2008 which considered the project for clearance. The MoEF conveyed the observation of the 20th meeting of the EAC vide letter dated 03-12-2008 and insisted on conducting a public hearing in Dakshina Kannada district also. The KPCL submitted the clarification to MoEF on16-02-2009.

A public hearing was conducted in Siribagilu village of Putturtaluk of Dakshina Kannada District on 25-03-2009. A copy of the proceedings of the hearing was furnished to MoEF by KSPCB on 18-04-2009. The 27th meeting of the EAC of MoEF was held on 15-06-2009 which considered the project for clearance. The MoEF sought information on certain points vide letter dated 29-06-2009 to which KPCL furnished compliance through a letter dated 29-09-2009. The Malenadu Janapara Horata Samiti made a presentation before the subcommittee of the Expert Appraisal Committee for River Valleys and Hydro Electric Projects, MoEF, New Delhi on their visit to the GHEP site on 05-12-2009. The noted environmentalist and Chipko movement leader Shri Sunder Lal Bahuguna protested at Bettakumari (Gundia Project Balancing Site) and conducted a protest meeting at Hongadhalla village on 21-12-2009. The next day a big protest rally and public meeting was organized by the Malenadu Janapara Horata Samiti in Hassan town. It would be pertinent to mention that several such local protests had also been organized between 2004–2006.

WGEEP Visits and Consultations : -

At the invitation of Prof. Madhav Gadgil, Chairman, Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, Ministry of Environment and Forests, a team constituting Dr. T.V. Ramachandra (Member, Western Ghats Task Force, and Scientific Officer, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science), Prof. M. D. Subhash Chandran (Member, Karnataka Biodiversity Board), Mr. Harish Bhat (Hon. Wildlife Warden, Bangalore) and other researchers visited the proposed Gundia Hydroelectric Project site from 29th August 2010 to 31st August 2010. They were accompanied by some local villagers and representatives. The team also conducted a public hearing meeting on 31st August 2010 in Hongadhalla village, where local people came out in significant number to express their views and opinions about the proposed hydroelectric project. This was presented to the WGEEP on 15th September 2010. Subsequently, Prof. Madhav Gadgil, with WGEEP member Ms Vidya Nayak, visited the project site on 16th September and had a consultation meeting with locals on 17th Sept 2010.

Biodiversity of the Gundia project area :-

The Gundia River is an important tributary of the Kumaradhara originating at an elevation of about 1400 m in Sakleshpura taluk in Hassan District. The Netravathi and Kumaradhara rivers are two west-flowing rivers of the Central Western Ghats in Karnataka. Gundia River is formed by the Yettinahole and Kemphole streams to which Kadumanehole and Hongadahalla streams join along the course of the river. The Gundia catchment comes under influence of the south-west monsoon in the months of June to September. This river basin is situated along a narrow belt of tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen climax and secondary forests that are generally classified under two major forest types 1) Dipterocarpus indicus–Kingiodendron pinnatum–Humboldtia brunonis type of lower elevation (0–850 m elevation) and 2) Mesua ferrea–Palaquium ellipticum type of mid-elevation (650–1400 m). However, these tree species are not characteristic of the areas that would be directly affected by the project (submergence and construction). Vateria indica and Elaeocarpus tuberculatus are the two most common and dominant trees in terms of abundance and basal area (Sukumar and Shanker 2010). Much of the forest in the basin is secondary growth with some patches of primary evergreen forest remaining. Large extent of grassland, characteristic of degraded vegetation, is also seen in this basin.

This region is representative of the biodiversity of the moist western tract of the Western Ghats. Of the plant species found in the basin nearly 36% are endemic to the Western Ghats, while 87% of amphibians and 41% of fishes of this basin are similarly endemic to Western Ghats. Several species of animals included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) also seen in this basin though their abundance may be low.

The salient features of the biodiversity of the Gundia basin can be summarised as follows (Sukumar and Shanker 2011) : -

a) Plants: The tree species (woody plants >1 cm dbh) mean richness of 43 species (in 0.1 hectare) and associated measures of heterogeneity are comparable to that of the richness of other Western Ghats moist tropical forests such as at Kudremukh (Karnataka) and Silent Valley (Kerala), though lower than at Sengaltheri in the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu). Being situated in valleys, the tree richness of the Bettakumari and the Hongadahalla submerge sites are higher than the average richness of the Gundia basin. Out of 18 species of Western Ghats endemic plants recorded in one study, 16 species are widespread in the ghats, one (Atlantia wightii) is restricted to Karnataka and Kerala and the other (Pinganga dicksonii) is restricted to Karnataka. However, the biomass of the vegetation in the Gundia basin is much lower than other comparable forests in the Western Ghats such as Kudremukh and Silent Valley, presumably because of removal of large trees in Gundia.

b) Insects: A bee new to science was discovered by Renee M. Borges and team within an ant-plant Humboldtia brunonis that is found in these forests and is endemic to the Western Ghats. This cuckoo bee Braunsapis bislensis Michener & Borges (named after the Bisle forests in which it was found) is a unique species that is parasitic on Braunsapis puangensis.

c) Fishes: Three locally-protected sites for mahseers in the downstream region of the Kumaradhara and Nethravathi indicate the fish richness of the region as well as the conservation priority given to these rivers by local people.

d) Amphibians: Out of a total of 21 species of amphibians recorded in this study, 18 species were endemic to the Western Ghats while two species (Nyctibatrachus sanctipalustris and Indirana gundia) are presently known only from the Gundia basin.

e) Birds: Of 69 species of birds sampled in this study, 6 species were endemic to the Western Ghats.

f) Mammals: Several species of mammals that are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) are present in the Gundia basin though at low abundances. Lion-tailed macaque – Macaca silenus), Travancore flying squirrel (Petinomys fuscocapillus), and Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii) have been reported from the broader region though they were not recorded in the biodiversity study within the project areas. Similarly, the presence of tiger (Panthera tigris) has been reported from the region. The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is also present in the region, and has been recorded in the project area, though at very low densities compared to its presence in the major elephant habitat (Mysore Elephant Reserve) of Karnataka. The Gundia basin lies outside the Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary that is a part of the Project Elephant: Mysore Elephant Reserve. The significance of the Gundia basin for movement of elephants between the Mysore Elephant Reserve and other areas to the north of the Hassan-Sakleshpur-Mangalore highway has not been investigated so far. Presently, it has not been listed among the priority elephant corridors recognized by the Government of India as given in the publication Right of Passage: Elephant Corridors of India (Menon et al. 2005).

Land-use pattern of the Gundia Basin : -

Land-use in the river basin includes cardamom and coffee plantations. In these plantations some of the original trees are preserved to favour the shade- and humidity-loving cardamom plants beneath. This cash crop fetches high returns of Rs 1500 per kg of dried fruit. Both small and large farmers of Gundia basin are engaged in cardamom cultivation. The coffee estates, both small and large, like in the rest of the Central Western Ghats, constitute a major economic activity in the region. In many large private holdings a portion is under wild vegetation, though unauthorized logging has already removed many of the large trees such as Elaeocarpus tuberculatus, Calophyllum polyanthum, Vateria indica, Holigarna grahami and Garcenia indica (Sukumar and Shanker 2010). In fact, illegal logging is rampant in this region and most of the valuable Calophyllum polyanthum has already disappeared. Likewise, encroachment on forest land by settlers is also common and has contributed to reduction and degradation of forests.

Recommendations :-

1. The execution of the Gundia project in three stages and two phases will cause large scale land cover changes in this basin. The impacts on the habitat and biodiversity would come not only from submergence but also associated activity including building constructions as well as roads to access the various project sites.

2. The project would alter the hydrological regime of the river basin. Kumaradhara River, a perennial source of water to the important temple-township at Subramanya, will lose water due to its diversion to the Bettakumari dam. This may have implications for the piligrims visiting the temple. The implications of land cover changes on the catchment yield as well as diversion of waters as envisaged in the project are not clear. Current perennial streams could become seasonal (as has happened in the Sharavathi river basin), while the altered hydrology downstream could affect livelihoods of local people.

3. The tunnel access to the main underground powerhouse is located in an area of primary forest cover. This location is not desirable as it would cause disturbance to one of the few remaining patches of primary evergreen forests of the Gundia basin.

4. The proposed Gundia hydro-electric project falls in an area that has been classified as Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 by the WGEEP (Figure 2). WGEEP recommends that no large storage dams be permitted in ESZ1.

5. The recommendation of the WGEEP is therefore not to permit the execution of the Gundia hydroelectric project (in three stages and two phases) as the loss of biodiversity and environmental impacts would be significant.

GUNDYA-JUNCTION-NH75.

NEXT :16. Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts

To be continued ..

JAIHIND
VANDEMATHARAM