Thu Mar 20 20:44:03 UTC 2025: ## TNPCB Cancels Public Hearing on Controversial Hydroelectric Project in Nilgiris

**UDHAGAMANDALAM, March 21, 2025** – The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has cancelled a public consultation meeting scheduled for Thursday in Kundha, Nilgiris district, regarding the controversial Silahalla Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project. The meeting, announced over a week ago, had sparked widespread concern among local residents, farmers’ associations, and conservationists who believed the project had already been abandoned.

Opponents of the project, including the Silahalla Protection Committee, have voiced concerns for over a decade, citing potential negative impacts on farmland and the livelihoods of residents in over 20 villages surrounding Kundha taluk. They had planned to express their opposition during the TNPCB meeting.

Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru clarified that the meeting’s purpose was to present an environmental impact assessment prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and solicit public opinion. She stated that a misunderstanding arose among residents who believed the meeting concerned land acquisition. The Collector emphasized that the project is in its early stages and that the TNPCB meeting will be rescheduled. She assured that obtaining local community approval is mandatory for the project’s implementation, a process that could take several years.

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