Young scientists map Murbad biodiversity amid project row | Thane News

A group of young scientists is diligently conducting biodiversity surveys to underscore the environmental importance of the area. (Photo credit: Joeanna Fernandes)

MURBAD/THANE: Near midnight on a recent Friday, a dozen young men were herded into a pickup truck parked outside Titwala railway station.Around 55 km away, in a bamboo shed doubling as a tribal museum and community centre, a blue tarpaulin awaited them on the earthen floor—their bed for the weekend.Many of the men were strangers to each other, and to Vaishakhare, a village in Murbad where two projects are planned within 10-12 km of each other: the Kalu Dam and the Malshej Ghat Bhorande Pumped Storage Project (PSP), an energy storage plant.Both projects have been opposed by locals who fear displacement or loss of livelihood.The dam, to be built by the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) and funded by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), will supply drinking water to Thane, Bhiwandi, Ambernath, and other cities.It is expected to acquire 2,258.86 hectares and impact an estimated 18,000 people. Meanwhile, the 1500 MW PSP, to be built by Adani Renewable Energy Fifty Two Limited, will acquire 166.05 ha and impact at least three villages.Local opposition has recently gained an unlikely ally: young city scientists.For the past year, 20-something botanists, zoologists, and biologists from colleges in Thane, Pune, and Mumbai, have been descending on Kalu and Bhorande, site of the PSP’s lower reservoir, to conduct biodiversity surveys and document the community’s ties to the landscape.The aim is to build research-backed evidence of the area’s environmental and cultural significance.

Each field visit costs Rs 15,000–20,000, funded largely through donations. (Photo credit: Joeanna Fernandes)

“There is no baseline data on the Kalu river and only the People’s Biodiversity Register for Bhorande forest. We need studies robust enough to hold up in court,” says wildlife conservationist Avinash Harad.Initially, they had invited senior scientists to conduct surveys, but their requirements were too costly, he says. So the organisations backing the movement — Shramik Mukti Sanghatana and Ashwamedh Prathisthan—turned to young scientists willing to sleep on a tarp.Each field visit costs Rs 15,000–20,000, funded largely through donations.To date, some 70 researchers have done fieldwork in Murbad, and another 30 have analysed data remotely.“We don’t need complex equipment or labs. For most biodiversity studies, photographic evidence is enough,” says Jeth Nadar, a 26-year-old zoologist. He and others hope to publish at least 20 research papers in the coming years.Researchers are not simply counting species but documenting the ties binding people to place: the local Thakar, Mahadeo-Koli and Katkari adivasis — the last classified as a ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group’ — hold traditional rights to forest resources.

Conflicting assessments

Volunteers believe their data will help challenge what they see as gaps in official impact assessments.Their data has already thrown up a discrepancy. Around 1,419 species have been logged in the area so far, including 468 plant, 154 bird, 34 reptile and 13 amphibian species.This is more than double the number documented in the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the storage project, published this May.Nadar flagged another issue: the 26 fish species listed in the draft EIA were attributed to a 2016 study at an entirely different Kalu Dam in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), more than 100 km from here. (The Murbad dam is exempt from an EIA because it is a drinking water project.)In an email response to TOI, a spokesperson for the Adani Group rejected the allegations, saying: “Project assessments indicate no anticipated impact on local flora, fauna, livelihoods, communities or nearby cultural and tourism sites.”The company says it is committed to “environmental safeguards and continued engagement with local communities, while contributing to local infrastructure, livelihoods and regional development.”There are also differing claims about people. The draft EIA mentions 2,653 affected people, but the company says this refers simply to the population of the 10-sq-km study area, not the project site.

Volunteers believe their data will help challenge what they see as gaps in official impact assessments. (Photo credit: Joeanna Fernandes)

While the project will affect three villages, it will not displace anyone, says the company. However, at least 15 villages have been served public hearing notices by the state pollution control board, says Harad.Nine of them, including Bhorande, have passed resolutions opposing the project.Meanwhile, the gram sabha process for the dam is underway, says Sudarshan Pagar, Executive Director, KIDC, Thane.The land acquisition proposal has been submitted to the district collector’s office and the required resolutions will be obtained as per statutory provisions, including PESA, he added.Currently, data on affected houses and families is being collected, Pagar says. Once finalised, a rehabilitation plan will be prepared and submitted to the Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division, he adds.

A learning exchange

For some volunteers, the fieldwork has been sobering. “I didn’t realise the gravity of the situation until I came here,” says Rajas Shrikoli, 24, a marine biologist who signed up expecting a fun excursion.[Scientists may be new to the movement, but young people have long been part of it, says Indavi Tulpule, an activist and legal advocate who has led the Kalu agitation for decades. When the dam was first announced in 2009, students from TISS Tuljapur, Nirmala Niketan and colleges in Kalyan helped collect data on potential impacts. Tulpule hopes to deploy research data for any legal battles that might arise. But there are also intangible benefits to the scientific effort.]Harad says the presence of city researchers has spurred local youth to engage more deeply with their landscape, potentially opening up work as environmental and cultural guides.The knowledge exchange has run both ways. Under a karanda tree in Bhorande forest, Daulat Pardhi, 29, a guide from the Thakar community, points out a plant curled like a shepherd’s crook on the ground, called Gulabdani for its pink flower.When the flowers dry and fall, Pardhi grinds them into powder and uses it to heal wounds. “My mother taught me this,” he says.

Two projects and a movement

Kalu Dam:

Pumped Storage Project

Wildlife impact:

Kalu Dam Timeline:

PSP Timeline: