Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Samajwadi Jan Parishad has urged the government to cancel the agreement signed with Torrent Power Company. In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis through the divisional commissioner, the organisation’s state president, Adv Vishnu Dhoble, said the agreement signed by the Maharashtra Government with Torrent Power for the proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric project in Karjat taluka of Raigad district would result in large-scale destruction of trees.
In the name of meeting the growing demand for electricity, the project threatens to destroy a precious forest area in Maharashtra, where forest cover is already limited. The Samajwadi Jan Parishad firmly believes that the project will cause extensive environmental damage.
The organisation said it had repeatedly witnessed numerous development projects being undertaken across the state and the country without serious consideration for water resources, forests, land and the long-term interests of the state.
The proposed agreement threatens the rich natural surroundings of the Bhimashankar region. The felling of approximately 32,000 to 39,000 trees in the area would destroy trees that have grown naturally over hundreds of years. Such destruction, the organisation said, cannot be considered a sensible policy by any responsible government.
At a time when Maharashtra is facing drought-like conditions, it is unfortunate that all the formalities for approving such an agreement have been completed at the state and central government levels, despite the project threatening to destroy thousands of trees.
In the memorandum, Adv Dhoble urged the Chief Minister to reconsider the agreement and take concrete legislative and administrative steps to prevent the destruction of trees in the Bhimashankar region.
