SC Panel Urged to Stop Rajasthan's Shahbad Forest Project Over Plan to Cut 1 Lakh Trees

A fresh environmental debate has erupted over the proposed 1,800 MW pumped storage power project in Rajasthan's Shahbad forest , with conservationists urging the Supreme Court-appointed Aravalli committee to recommend an immediate halt to the project over fears of irreversible ecological damage.

In an open letter released last week, Prashant Patni , coordinator of the Shahbad Ghati Sanrakshan Sangharsh Samiti , appealed to the committee to prevent the felling of more than one lakh trees and the diversion of over 400 hectares of forest land required for the project, which is proposed to be developed by Greenko Energies Private Limited .

The committee, constituted by the Supreme Court in May this year, has been tasked with independently reviewing the Centre's report on the definition and delineation of the Aravalli hill range . According to the letter, the Forest Survey of India's September 2025 report identifies the hills and forests of Baran district as part of the Aravallis, making their conservation crucial.

The conservation group warned that clearing such a vast stretch of forest could have severe and long-lasting consequences, including loss of biodiversity , disruption of the local climate, reduced rainfall, rising temperatures and an increased risk of desertification in Rajasthan, a state already facing limited forest cover and growing water stress.

Another major concern raised is the project's proximity to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park . The site lies within a cheetah corridor identified by the National Tiger Conservation Authority , and environmentalists fear that large-scale construction could obstruct wildlife movement and weaken the broader vision of establishing a 17,000-square-kilometre cheetah landscape .

The letter also highlights the forest's rich biodiversity, saying the area supports sloth bears, leopards, wolves, hyenas, jackals, long-billed vultures, sambar deer, nilgai and more than 100 other species , all of which could face habitat disruption if the project moves ahead.

Beyond environmental concerns, activists have stressed the human impact of the proposed development. Several villages of the Sahariya Adivasi community are located in and around the Shahbad forest, and the destruction of forest resources could threaten livelihoods, increase displacement and force migration.