TNPCB to hold public hearing on Sillahalla pumped storage project
Of the 310.15 ha proposed for the project, 8.9 ha fall under forest area
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CHENNAI: As the comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for the construction of Sillahalla Pumped Storage project in the Nilgiris district has been completed by the Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has decided to conduct a public hearing meeting on the project on March 20.
As per the EIA report, the project will come up at 310.15 hectares of which 8.91 hectares are forest land and 239.24 hectares are private land.
TNGECL proposed the project to meet the increase in peak power demand. The proposed Sillahalla PSHEP Stage-I with a capacity of 1000MW is to be developed by utilizing the water of Sillahalla River, a perennial stream of the tributary of River Kundah by constructing an upper dam across Sillahalla stream and lower dam across Kundah river downstream of existing Kundah Palam Dam.
Both the dams will be interconnected by the tunnel to generate electricity for peak hours and recycle the water from lower to upper dam at the time of non-peak hours. The total project cost is Rs 5,843 crore.
Presently, around 56.4 per cent of the submergence area of Upper Reservoir is agriculture and 34.3 per cent is bare area. The area under vegetation is 6.3 per cent of the submergence. Settlements and water bodies account for 0.3 per cent 2 per cent respectively. About 0.8 per cent of the submergence area is under tea plantation.
On the other hand, around 47.2 per cent of the submergence area of Lower Reservoir is forest area and 40.7 per cent is bare area. The area under agriculture is 1.1 per cent of the submergence. Water bodies account for 10.9 per cent.
Since the total storage capacity of upper and lower reservoir will be 29.88 MCM (million cubic meters), the river stretch within the submergence area, with moving water condition will be converted into quiescent conditions.
New roads of about 25 km length are proposed to be constructed to connect the various project components.
Moreover, the EIA report clarified that no area of Mukurthi National Park, which is close to the project site, will be acquired but increased human interferences due to labour congregations could lead to adverse impacts on the eco-sensitive area.
However, the TNGECL has earmarked Rs 467.21 crore for implementation of various environmental measures.
