Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Environmentalists oppose 2,500-MW Varahi project in Western Ghats
Some people in a place called the Western Ghats in India are worried about a big new power project called the Varahi pumped storage project.
A pumped storage project uses water and hills to make electricity.
The project would be very big and could make 2,500 megawatts of power, enough for many homes.
Environmentalists say building it would hurt forests, animals and plants.
They say many trees would be cut down and the land could become unsafe.
The area has already had landslides, so experts worry the project could be dangerous.
The people who want to protect the forests, called the Vriksha Laksha Andolana, are asking the Karnataka government to stop the project.
They think using solar power from the sun, made in smaller places, would be better.
Many families who live in the forests could also lose their homes.
The activists want the government to listen to the people who live there before building anything.
Environmentalists have opposed the proposed 2,500-MW Varahi pumped storage project in the Western Ghats.
The Vriksha Laksha Andolana movement has asked the Karnataka government to abandon the project and promote decentralised solar power instead.
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has submitted a proposal for a survey of the project, which would use the Mani and Hulikal ghats and a new reservoir.
Activists warn the project threatens the Mookambika and Someshwara wildlife areas and nearly one lakh forest-dwelling people and farmers.
Experts say the Varahi valley lies in seismic and landslide-prone zones, and the movement estimates about 1,000 acres of forest and two lakh trees could be lost.
- Who
- Environmental activists and scientists led by the Vriksha Laksha Andolana, opposing the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) proposal, with the Karnataka and Central governments preparing for the project.
- What
- Opposition to the proposed 2,500-MW Varahi pumped storage project in the Western Ghats, which activists warn would damage forests, biodiversity and fragile hill slopes.
- When
- The articles specify no exact date; opposition comes as preparations are reportedly under way for surveys of the project.
- Where
- The Western Ghats, along the borders of Kundapura, Hosanagara and Thirthahalli taluks in Udupi and Shivamogga districts, Karnataka, India.
- Why
- Because the region is ecologically sensitive, landslide-prone and home to forest-dwelling communities that could face displacement and further ecological degradation.
Environmental activists
State government and project proponents
Project in the Western Ghats
Environmental activists
The fragile Western Ghats cannot withstand another major reservoir, so the project should be abandoned to protect forests, biodiversity and unstable hill slopes.
State government and project proponents
The state and Central governments are preparing for another major power project in the Western Ghats, and KPCL has submitted a proposal for a survey of the Varahi project.
Energy approach
Environmental activists
Decentralised solar power generation should be promoted instead of imposing pumped storage on the ecologically fragile Western Ghats.
State government and project proponents
The Varahi project would be a 2,500-MW power generation initiative, with an underground power house and a new reservoir.
- Project
- Varahi Pumped Storage Project (proposed)
- Capacity
- 2,500 MW
- Proponent
- Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL)
- Location
- Western Ghats, along Kundapura, Hosanagara and Thirthahalli taluks, Udupi and Shivamogga districts, Karnataka
- Opposing group
- Vriksha Laksha Andolana
- Estimated ecological loss
- About 1,000 acres of forest, two lakh trees and four lakh smaller plants
- Affected people
- Nearly one lakh forest-dwelling communities and farmers
- Wildlife areas at risk
- Mookambika and Someshwara wildlife areas