By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 6: Newly minted Environment Minister of Goa, Nilesh Cabral has decided to walk into the mine field created by the Tamnar power line and take on detractors of the project. Cabral reiterated that the Goa requires the “Tamnar power line” project given the phenomenal increase in power requirement. "We require the Tamnar line as it will be lifeline for the people of Goa over the period of time given the rate at which our power requirements are increasing,” said Cabral.

Cabral’s pronouncement immediately met with opposition from environmental groups and other concerned parties like Amche Mollem Group; Goyant Kollso Naka; Goencho Ekvott and Goa Foundation. The project has met with opposition in Karnataka as well.

“Out of the 177.091 hectares of forest land for which diversion is sought, a majority of the alignment (i.e. around 101 hectares) falls in Belagavi division. The removal of native vegetation for a transmission line would result in fragmentation of forests, loss of natural habitat of wildlife, create imbalance in the function of watershed, accelerate human-wildlife conflict, cause disturbance to wildlife corridors and avifauna habitat, and result in decline in non-wood forest produce production, which will threaten the rights and livelihood of local communities,” said Giridhar Kulkarni, a conservationist in a written in petition to the authorities in Karnataka.

Cabral has always batted for the 400 Kv high power line to be built from Mapusa to Xeldem in South Goa. Even in his earlier avatar as power minister, Cabral is quoted as saying on the occasion of Goa Revolution Day on 18 June 2021: “People of Goa are suffering because of some vested elements, which are simply creating an issue for infrastructure works. We are not producing our own power. We will not be allowed to put up coal-based neither we will be allowed to put up nuclear-based power plant in the State.”

“Goa’s power requirement is increasing five per cent every year in the last 10 years. Power requirement is 697 MW per day and with an increase of five per cent every year it will increase to 731 MW next year and 890 MW in the coming fourth year,” Cabral added.

What is the Tamnar power line?

In 2015, the Goa Ministry of Power envisaged the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL) to create an additional source of power for Goa. Subsequently, the decision to provide a new 400 kV substation in South Goa along with its interconnections with the Inter State Transmission System was discussed and approved by the Standing Committee on Power System Planning in 2016. This project is part of the three linier projects envisaged by the Goa government. The project plans to have a sub-station in Xeldem and the area to Colvale without going through the densely forested Mollem national park and the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, actually opt for the forest route, going through Sangod in the Mollem panchayat.

The original plan was to bring the line from Narendra in Karnataka to Xeldem, taking it along the coast to the North to Colvale but this route was changed and it was decided to take the line through Sangod, which is where the need to enter Mollem arose.
On taking over as Power Minisiter in February 2021, Nilesh Cabral in a ‘White Paper’ stated “The transformers and Sub-stations as a whole are loaded and cannot cater to the loads of the consumers. These EHV Sub-stations being the heart of our system, unless and until these Sub-stations as well as the transmitting network lines are strengthened and additional capacities are built, no amount of work done on the distribution network will give much relief.”

“These EHV stations are at Tivim (220 KV station), Amona Sub-station (220 KV station), Kadamba Plateau near Panjim (110 KV station), Verna Sub-station (110 KV), Cuncolim Sub-station (220 KV), Ponda sub-station (220 KV) and Xeldem (220 KV station),” the minister further stated.

Reacting to the announcement made by Nilesh Cabral, Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation said, “Blanket statements that he has just made uncritically supporting the projects indicates that he is still living in the earlier centuries development and industrial model which has, we all agree, pushed us closer to the distinct possibility of extinction”. Goencho Ekvott (GE) questioned Cabral’s eligibility as ‘Environment Minister’.

Orville Dourado Rodrigues, Founding member of GE said, “Cabral’s statement in favour of the most destructive of the three linear projects is not surprising considering that he has personal interest as an executive member of the Railway Board in Hubli.” Amche Mollem Group condemned the statement of Nilesh Cabral. Its co-convener Abhijit Prabhudesai said, “The supply of electricity is sufficient for now and for the future."