A Union Environment Ministry panel recommended in-principle approval to divert 511 hectares of forest land for the 1,800 MW Panari Pumped Storage Project. The site falls within the Panna-Ranipur tiger corridor. Officials noted that 211 hectares of this land are part of the North Eastern Tiger Corridor of Panna Tiger Reserve.

Approximately 211 of the 511 hectares of forest land that need to be diverted for the 1,800 MW project falls in the North Eastern Tiger Corridor of Panna Tiger Reserve

A Union Environment Ministry panel has recommended an in-principle approval to divert 511 hectares of forest land within the Panna-Ranipur Tiger Corridor to make way for the 1,800 MW Panari Pumped Storage Project.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) recommended clearance for the project by Sri Siddharth Infratech and Services spanning Satna and Panna districts during its October 23 meeting, chaired by the Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, Environment Ministry.

The tiger corridor connects the forests of the Panna Tiger Reserve, across the Satna and Panna districts, to the Ranipur Tiger Reserve in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh.

Incidentally, the Ranipur Tiger Reserve was notified in 2022 to compensate for the forest submergence in Panna's core zone caused by the Ken-Betwa river linking project.

"A total of 211.7 hectares of the proposed area falls under compartment P-132, 133, 135, 136, 137, which is part of NTCA-approved North Eastern Tiger Corridor of Panna Tiger Reserve," the meeting's minutes noted.

As per tentative enumeration figures, approximately 1.32 lakh trees are proposed to be felled, including 70,240 in Satna and 62,278 in the North Panna forest divisions.

The project was first taken up for appraisal on February 27, but a decision was deferred to await recommendations from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife. Later, the SC-NBWL, chaired by the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, recommended the project for wildlife clearance with specific conditions during its July 9 meeting.

The project will consist of two reservoirs, which are to be constructed afresh. The upper reservoir is planned in Panari village under Devendra Nagar Range of North Panna Forest division in Panna district, and the lower reservoir is planned on the Baghain river, in Barondha range of the Satna forest division, the FAC minutes noted.

A pumped storage project uses the elevation difference between an upper and a lower reservoir. During periods of low electricity demand, water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir to store energy. When electricity demand peaks, the stored water is released back down through turbines to generate power.

The NBWL had appraised the project as it lies within an "ecological sensitive tiger landscape and supports movement of tigers, leopards, dholes, wolves, sloth bears, gaurs, sambar and chital", with some components overlapping the satellite core areas of the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The conditions specified included the construction of three 30-meter-wide wildlife overpasses across the frequently used Baghain River. While recommending the project, the SC-NBWL also noted reservations expressed by field officers regarding the possible fragmentation of the wildlife corridor.

Against the diversion of the 511.91 hectares of the forest land, the Madhya Pradesh government has identified 531.84 hectares of non-forest land as compensatory afforestation (CA) land, the FAC minutes noted. "Based on site suitability, plantation is proposed over 527.88 hectares only, and the CA scheme has accordingly been prepared for 527.88 hectares," the minutes stated.