Save Shahabad Forest Movement

• 09 Apr 2025

Why in News? 

Activists protest against the plan to cut trees for a pump storage project in Shahabad forest of Rajasthan . 

Key Points 

• About the Project: 
  • Shahpur Pump Storage Project is an off-stream closed loop pump storage project. Under this, two reservoirs will be constructed. At the same time , water will be pumped from the nearby Kuno river to fill the proposed lower reservoir. 
  • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved  Hyderabad-based company Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd to set up Shahpur Pumped Storage Project in Shahabad tehsil of Baran district. 
  • The project covers 624.17 hectares of land in Kalauni, Baint and Mungaoli villages. Of this, 408 hectares of area is forest. 
  • The project area falls within the Shahabad Conservation Reserve, which is home to wildlife species protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act (WPAA) 2022. 
• Reasons for protest:  
  • Under this project, there is a plan to cut more than 4 lakh trees, which will destroy the forest. 
    • Cutting down trees on such a large scale would have an adverse effect on the climate, and would also stop the absorption of 22.5 lakh metric tons of carbon dioxide that the region absorbs every year.  
  • The local ecology will be deeply affected and the livelihood of the local residents may also be in danger due to this project. 
  • Environmentalists say this could cause serious damage to wildlife, flora and rare medicinal herbs . 
  • Additionally, cutting down trees will lead to soil erosion and may also obstruct important environmental benefits. 
  • This hydropower project will also adversely impact the movement and welfare of cheetahs introduced from Namibia and South Africa under the Kuno Cheetah Project. 
• Shahabad Forest: 
  • The Shahabad forest is rich in biodiversity and is home to protected wildlife species. 
  • This forest is located in Baran, Rajasthan, very close to the designated habitat for cheetahs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. 
  • The forest area of Shahabad lies between the Madhav National Park and the Cheetah corridor , which would be disrupted by the proposed project. 

Kuno River  

• The Kuno River flows through the middle of the Kuno National Park and flows from south to north in Madhya Pradesh.  
• This river originates from the Vindhya mountain range and passes through various districts of Madhya Pradesh like Guna, Shivpuri, Sheopur and Morena.  
• The Kuno River area is also part of India's famous Cheetah Project, which is located in the Kuno National Park. 
• The river supports regional biodiversity and plays a vital role in maintaining environmental balance. 

Kuno National Park 

• Kuno National Park (Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh) was established as a wildlife sanctuary in the year 1981 and was upgraded to a national park in the year 2018 
• Geography:  
  • It consists mainly of dry deciduous forests and the Kuno River, a major tributary of the Chambal , flows through the park.  
  • It is situated in the Vindhya mountain range . 
• Fauna:  
  • Leopard, striped hyena, Indian wolf, blackbuck, sambar deer, gharial (Kuno River). 
  • It was selected under the action plan for the introduction of cheetah in India . 
• Flora:  
  • The primary tree species are Kardhaai, Khair and Salai.