Mumbai: The union environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) on river valley and hydroelectric projects has paved the way forward for a major renewable energy facility in the state, the 1500MW Bhavali Pumped Storage facility at Igatpuri. The Centre has granted the project terms of reference (ToR), which will allow the project proponent, JSW Neo Energy, to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to gauge its ecological footprint, which includes the diversion of 212 hectares of forest land in Thane and Nashik districts.
The EAC, in April, had denied ToR for the project on technical grounds but sanctioned the same on May 9. An official with JSW Neo Energy, seeking anonymity, said, “The ministry had sought further details on the ecological aspects of the project, which we submitted. We will conduct an EIA assessment as per the ToR, which includes carrying out a detailed study of the project’s impact on water and land ecology in the project area, which will be classified into high and low impact zones.” The spokesperson emphasised that the project is “critically site-specific” since it requires a particular topography with nearby water availability.
