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Central panel seeks report on violations by windmill firm in Karnataka’s Chitradurga
Credit: Chiranjeevi Kulkarni, DHNS, Bengaluru | Jun 11 2023 | deccanherald.com ~~
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Over the last 5 years several studies have highlighted the threat posed by wind mills to bird population.
Amid calls for better regulation of windmills, the Forest Advisory Committee of the Union environment ministry has asked the state government for details of violations in the operation of a windmill on 550 acres in Chitradurga district.
The committee was looking into a proposal by the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) which sought to extend the diversion of 548 acres of forest land in Chitradurga for subleasing the land to Wind World (India) Limited (earlier known as Enercon (India) Limited), a company which has set up windmills on Build-Operate-Transfer basis.
The original proposal for the diversion of the forest land was made in 2002. The principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) had recommended that it be a 15-year lease with the possibility of renewal for an additional 15 years if the agency continues with the same technology in the area.
In April 2003, the Union ministry gave final approval for the recommendation and a month later clarified in a letter that the clearance to lease the forest land was for a period of 15 years.
However, the company continued to operate the wind mill after 2018, when the ministry’s permission for use of forest land ended. For this, the PCCF gave permission in July 2020. The PCCF later withdrew the permission in May 2022 and also wrote to Bescom to withhold Rs 7.5 crore payable to the wind mill company.
The advisory committee, which looked into the details last month, has said the proposal could not be accepted in its present form. “The state government shall submit the details regarding the extension of the permission granted to operate the wind mill beyond 15 years and provide justification why this should not be considered as violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and action taken in this regard as per the act,” the committee said.
The state government has also been told to submit a detailed proposal for regularisation after getting prior approval of the central government for renewal of the lease.
Impact on environment
Over the last five years several studies have highlighted the threat posed by wind mills to bird population.
Last year, the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History published its study of windmills’ impact on birds in Chitradurga and Gadag. It noted that the bird populations were two times lower in areas with wind turbines compared to nearby areas with similar environments. Besides collision with turbines, the study said the lower presence of birds might be due to displacement caused by disturbance, barrier effects and habitat loss. However, researchers said it was hard to conclude the reason for such a change as no environment impact assessment was done prior to setting up windmills.
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