KARJAT — The order is dated October 14, 2026, signed by Karjat Division Forest Officer Sameer Shinde — permission to fell 32,490 trees. Site — Saidongar, Dhak, Pali Tarfe Kotwal Khalati villages, along Pej river, 16 km from Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary per company, adjacent per opposition, in Sahyadri-Western Ghats.
Project — Saidongar-I off-stream open loop pumped storage — 3,000 MW, investment Rs 13,505 crore, developed by Ahmedabad-based Torrent Power. India's largest PSP, will store surplus solar by pumping water to upper reservoir, release during peak demand to balance Maharashtra grid.
Felling began October 20, per villagers. By October 24, 1,825 trees cut, per ground count, machines continuing October 25. Forest covers honey, gum, firewood, fish, crabs — livelihood for Adivasi Katkari families of Pali Tarfe Gotal Kalti.
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Political storm: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray visited Monday with MP Sanjay Raut, deputy leader Sushma Andhare. On X — "indiscriminate felling for hydro project of Gujarat's Torrent Power company blatantly underway. Wiping out rich natural bounty in Saydongar area and trampling opposition of locals... under whose blessings is this slaughter proceeding?" Called it brutal massacre of nature, heart numb.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar — "not merely tree cutting but end of entire ecosystem. 233 hectares dense forest, 32,000 trees on paper will climb to lakh tomorrow. Nests, eggs, chicks too young to sprout feathers destroyed without pity." Said number may be 48,000 in some estimates.
MNS also — 377 hectares total land, 233 hectares forest — questioned Gujarat linkage.
NatConnect Foundation sought MoEFCC intervention, warned diversion affects Bhimashankar sanctuary connectivity — leopard, barking deer, Malabar pied hornbill corridor.
Villager Prasad Deshmukh — “Torrent says around 100 jobs. For 100 jobs why destroy thousands of old trees? Government plants elsewhere, what about animals? Where will they go?”
Company response: Site about 16 km from sanctuary, outside eco-sensitive zone, obtained all legal permissions, plans to plant around 60,000 trees. ESZ for Bhimashankar is 10 km.
Government defence: CM Devendra Fadnavis Sunday — “hearings held for 18 months, legal approval obtained. We are bringing environment-friendly projects. All investments in Maharashtra. Energy rights first of Maharashtra. Clean energy needed for peak demand, integration of renewable energy. No livelihood destroyed. Still we will listen to villagers' views and find way out. Fake narrative for politics is anti-Maharashtra act.”
MoS Power Meghna Bordikar — complied with all conditions laid down by Union Environment and Forest Ministry.
Compensation math: Forest Department to plant 90,000 trees, plus Torrent 60,000 — total 1.5 lakh saplings for 32,490 mature trees, ratio 1:4.6. Environmentalist Sayaji Shinde — “forest cover down from 70% to 35% in state. Cutting old trees with promise of saplings elsewhere will disrupt native wildlife. Why pumped hydro in ecologically sensitive zone?”
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Analytical lens: Pumped storage is critical — Maharashtra peak demand hit 30,000 MW 2026, renewable target 40% by 2030 needs storage. Centre exempted off-stream closed-loop PSP from CEA concurrence August 1 Gazette, streamlined approvals. 30 PSP projects totalling 50,000 MW proposed across Maharashtra, MP, AP. But Western Ghats is UNESCO biodiversity hotspot, 233 hectares forest stores 45,000 tonnes carbon, 32,490 trees mean 1,300 trees per MW — highest tree-per-MW ratio among recent PSPs (typically 2-3 trees/MW).
Question — whether storage must be in forest? Alternative — abandoned mines, non-forest wasteland available in Marathwada with 300 m head. Torrent chose Pej river because existing gradient 600 m reduces cost by Rs 2,000 crore.
PM Narendra Modi scheduled to lay foundation November 3 in Karjat per forest document — raising stakes.
*Tags:* #Karjat #TorrentPower #Saidongar #TreeFelling #PumpedStorage #Bhimashankar #Raigad #DevendraFadnavis #AadityaThackeray #WesternGhats