Centre defers nod to Yettinahole project over forest violations, landslide concerns in Western Ghats

New Delhi | The Centre has deferred ex-post facto clearance for the gravity canal component of Karnataka's Yettinahole drinking water project after finding large-scale unauthorised work, dumping of muck inside forests and serious risks to wildlife and environment, official records show.

At its meeting on October 27, the Environment Ministry's Advisory Committee said there have been complaints that Phase I of the Yettinahole project has already caused massive landslides and destruction of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats, without being able to deliver drinking water to the districts claimed by the user agency.

The panel said this background made it even more essential to evaluate the proposal carefully before granting any further clearance.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the state's revised proposal seeks diversion of around 111 hectares of forest land in Hassan and Tumkur districts for the canal, reduced from an original submission of 173.31 hectares.

The committee observed that a substantial part of the works, including about 10.13 km of canal, has already been constructed without prior approval, in violation of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980.

Forest authorities have registered an FIR against the executive engineer of Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Ltd (VJNL) for unauthorised construction but satellite imagery shows that most violations occurred after the case was filed in February 2019.

The panel directed the Karnataka government to initiate penal and disciplinary action under Section 3A/3B of the Act against those responsible for allowing such violations.

It said that deep vertical cuts, between 2 and 18 metres, have been made for the canal, with cement lining only up to 5.5 metres, leaving large exposed slopes prone to erosion and landslides.

According to the minutes, the monitoring committee has already recorded landslides and severe soil erosion, while inspectors found no robust mitigation measures in place.

The advisory committee asked for a detailed erosion control plan combining engineering and vegetative methods to prevent further degradation.

Around 42.3 lakh cubic metres of excavated material from the completed stretch has been dumped over about 210 acres and another 10.77 lakh cubic metres is expected from the remaining 6 km, it said.

The state initially proposed over 103 hectares of forest land just for dumping this muck, more than 60 per cent of the total forest area sought, but reduced it to 38 hectares after ministry objections.

The committee said such non-site-specific use of forest for dumping cannot be allowed and directed the agency to find non-forest land and remove already dumped debris from the forests.

It noted that the canal alignment passes through Marashettihalli Reserve Forest, which contains valuable species such as rosewood, teak and sandalwood and will require the felling of thousands of trees.

Inspectors warned that the canal's design, with a width between 28 and 60 metres and a height of up to 18 metres, could prove deadly for elephants and other animals if not fenced or provided with crossovers.

The committee demanded a wildlife mitigation plan approved by the chief wildlife warden and steps to prevent animal casualties.

The minutes also recorded complaints from villagers that blasting during construction has damaged nearby houses and that compensation has not been provided.

The monitoring committee earlier found non-compliance with several conditions of previous clearances and said the cumulative ecological impact on the fragile Western Ghats has not been fully assessed.

The advisory committee said no further diversion can be considered until past conditions and committee directions are complied with.

While Karnataka described the Yettinahole project as a major drinking water scheme intended to supply water to seven drought-prone districts and to fill hundreds of irrigation tanks, the FAC said such developmental objectives do not justify violations of forest law or environmental destruction.

The committee pointed out that the project's actual ability to deliver drinking water remains uncertain, especially given the performance of Phase I. The user agency told the panel that avoiding forest areas or transporting muck to non-forest land would increase project costs by around Rs 300 crore and design changes to reduce forest use would add another Rs 170 crore.

The committee said financial considerations cannot be an excuse for environmental violations and asked the state to explore options such as tunnels or cut-and-cover designs to minimise forest loss.