Greens oppose Jayakwadi solar park to protect 269 bird species

The dam, spread over 33,932 hectares which includes the water reservoir and its surrounding forest, was declared a bird sanctuary in 1986, as nearly 269 varieties of birds are found here

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The National Green Energy Limited’s (NGEL) plan to construct a floating solar park to generate electricity on a part of the Jayakwadi dam in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, in Marathwada, has provoked stiff opposition from environmentalists. NGEL is a central government body. The project was cleared by the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), in April, followed by an expert advisory committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in September.

Greens oppose Jayakwadi solar park to protect 269 bird species

Jayakwadi is the largest earthen dam in Asia and a vital water source in Marathwada.

The dam, spread over 33,932 hectares which includes the water reservoir and its surrounding forest, was declared a bird sanctuary in 1986, as nearly 269 varieties of birds are found here. The new project, which involves setting up solar panels on 4091 hectares (12% of the dam area) and cutting 755 trees, feel environmentalists, will harm the bird species and impact aqua fauna.

Leading the protest is environmentalist Dr Dilip Yardi, who played a key role in getting sanctuary status for Jayakwadi, backed by ornithologist Dr Salim Ali, who was taken in by the beauty of the dam and the “great variety of birds” that flocked the water body on his first visit here in the 1980s. After many deliberations with the state government, by Yardi and Ali, the dam was finally declared a sanctuary on October 10, 1986.

Elucidating on his opposition to the project, Yardi, who has earned a doctorate on the subject ‘Birds of the Jayakwadi dam’, from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, called attention to the birding hotspots on the waterbody. “Birds come here for roosting, nesting and basking, from Central Asia, Europe, Kazakhstan, Siberia as well as northern India. Ducks find their food here. When I learnt about the solar plant in early 2024, I wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately. His office referred me to the Wetlands Committee subsequently. My correspondence to the committee is yet to elicit any response,” said Yardi. “I want officials to shift the solar plant on the canals. There is no need to acquire any land.” HT has seen copies of Yardi’s communication with the prime minister and the Wetlands Committee.

Such a move, he said, will lead to reduction of sunlight in the water, which will affect the production of algae and change in the aquatic ecosystem, “which is so rich right now that it attracts around three lakh birds every year”.

Environmentalist and honorary wildlife warden Dr Kishor Pathak said the dam has been chosen “as it is a contiguous area”. “The government would find it hard to get such plots. The project development authority has to pay rent if it picks other plots, unlike here. We have written to many top government officials opposing the plan, as Jayakwadi is a lifeline of Marathwada,” said Pathak. “Initially, NGEL was set to acquire 1000 hectares which has now escalated to over 4000 hectares. The solar panels will rust in a few years.”

Resultantly, Pathak said, there will be no food for birds as fish will not breed in the same quantities (as they do now) on which the birds survive. “The government has managed to lure locals with the promise of electricity at cheap rates. But this will not work as locals steal electricity and do not pay for it,” Pathak pointed out.

Another environmentalist Kunal Vibhandik highlighted that nearly 85 per cent of the birds that visit the spot are migrants -- deep diving ducks in the middle of the dam, and shore birds such as cranes, flamingos and waders. “Where will the ducks go if the deep part of the water body is covered with panels? The River Tern bird species breed here in big numbers. The dam is not a deep water body, so when the water recedes part of the dam becomes shallow where the birds cannot thrive,” said Vibhandik, underscoring underwater plants -- phytoplanktons, bryophytes and zooplanktons – that keep the quality of water fresh for the birds will also be impacted. “The dam has a flatbed where the rays of sun enter deep inside, allowing the rich vegetation. The solar panels on the dam will prevent the vegetation from regenerating.”

Allaying fears of the environmentalists, principal chief conservator of forests, M Sreenivas Rao, said, “There will be no evaporation of water in the area underneath solar panels, as we are covering only 12 percent of the entire area.”

While NGEL’s chairman and managing director Sarit Maheshwari refused to speak on the matter, HT is in possession of minutes of an internal meeting held among SBWL officers in April, and with EAC, in September where salient features of the project, such as the amount of electricity it will generate (1342 MW) and the area it will occupy on water were discussed. Officers underlined how to protect both the eco-sensitive zone of the sanctuary and the entire sanctuary. In the meeting, representatives from NGEL assured that the alignment of the power lines will be finalized in consultation with the forest department to ensure that birds are not harmed by high voltage power lines. They also said that there will be no impact on the free flow of water and waves, and the creatures that thrive in this ecosystem.

Representatives of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who also participated in the meeting, pointed out that the power lines should be away from the sanctuary, which was agreed by everyone. Kishor Rithe, director of BNHS, called SBWL’s attention to bird deaths due to collision as well as electrocution in similar projects, and underlined that any new transmission line laid within 2 km area of the reservoir, should be made underground.

Deputy conservator of forests of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar area, Revati Kulkarni told HT: “We have received clearances for the project but I have not come across anyone who is opposing the project.” Chief engineer of the irrigation department Sunanda Jagtap, who is in-charge of Jayakwadi, said, “I am new on the job, but I have heard of the opposition. However, we have all the permissions and the work will start soon.”