BANGALORE: Environmentalists and those who are likely to be affected by the construction of the proposed 18-MW mini-hydel power project on the Kali river near Dandeli in Uttara Kannada district have opposed it.

They conveyed their feelings to the Forest Advisory Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests headed by Director-General of Forests J.C. Kala in New Delhi on Monday evening. The meeting was organised after the Ministry decided to review its June 21 order refusing permission for the project.

The Ministry is thinking about giving permission for the project after the State Government made a request to this effect in May on "additional grounds."

The people likely to be affected and environmentalists pointed out that the Ministry had said while clearing the Kodasalli hydroelectric project that no more deforestation would be allowed for such projects. It was now going back on the promise. Any decrease in the flow of water to farmlands and water bodies would affect farmers as well as water sports, such as white water rafting, a tourist attraction in the area.

People had been had been kept in dark about the "additional grounds" cited by the State Government, Umesh, who owns land that is likely to be submerged by the project, told The Hindu on the phone from New Delhi.

The State Government has sought transfer of 57.51 hectares of evergreen forest in favour of Murudeshwar Power Corporation Ltd., promoters of the project. The State Tourism Department and Jungle Lodges and Resorts — the two public entities likely to be affected by the project — and the State Forest Department have strongly objected to the transfer of forest land.

The meeting held in New Delhi on Monday was attended by Ananth Hegde Ashishar, convener of Vriksha Laksha Andolan, an environmental group, and representatives of the promoters of the project. The Tourism Department and Jungle Lodges and Resorts were not represented at the meeting, according to an official.

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