AMID growing outrage over the proposed felling of over 32,000 trees for a hydropower project in Raigad district, Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Sunday said he was examining ways to maximise tree preservation and compensatory plantation. Speaking to reporters here, Naik clarified that approval for Torrent Power’s 3,000 MW Saidongar-I pumped storage project near Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Karjat was granted before he assumed charge of the Forest Department, adding that he was currently reviewing the project’s details.

 

“I am looking into how maximum trees can be preserved at the site and how more trees can be planted in their place,” he said. The proposed Saidongar-I pumped storage project, being developed by Torrent Power at an estimated cost of Rs 13,500 crore, has triggered protests over the proposed felling of more than 32,000 trees and diversion of forest land. Naik’s remarks come amid a growing debate over the project’s environmental impact, even as the State Government defended it as essential for clean energy generation.