Local residents from Baran district in Rajasthan undertook a journey of over 500 kilometers to deliver a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent intervention to save the ancient and biodiverse Shahbad forest from destruction. The forest is under threat as the government has granted permission to a private company, Hyderabad-based Greenko Energy Private Limited, to set up a 408-hectare Pumped Storage Project in the Shahbad block of Baran district — a move that could lead to the felling of over 1.19 lakh mature trees and countless shrubs and smaller plants.
Prashant Patni, Sarpanch of Kujeda Gram Panchayat in Baran and a key member of the citizen delegation representing the 'Save Shahbad Forest' movement, said: “On April 1, 2025, we met with MP Dushyant Singh at his residence in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum addressed to PM Modi. The next day, on April 2, we handed over the same memorandum to Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla. Over the past six months, citizens of Rajasthan have conducted a postcard campaign, sending over 35,000 cards to the Prime Minister and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.”
The memorandum urges the government to relocate the project to areas lacking dense forest and ecological value — such as Ramganj Mandi in Kota district or Bhawani Mandi in Jhalawar district, where abandoned stone quarries have left deep pits and barren mounds. “China follows a similar approach by reusing mined lands for such infrastructure,” the delegation noted.
The memorandum also reminds the Prime Minister of his own message on World Wildlife Day, where he stated: “We do not believe in a conflict between ecology and economy, but in their co-existence.”
Water conservationist and Magsaysay awardee Dr. Rajendra Singh, popularly known as India’s ‘Waterman’, said, “I personally visited the Shahbad forest in January 2025 and found it to be a dense and vital water recharge zone. At a time when India's water security is in crisis, such forests must be preserved at all costs.”
Dr. Ramesh Kumar Bhutia, former Additional Director of the Ayurveda Department, who has conducted botanical surveys in the region, reported that out of the 450 medicinal plants found across India, 332 species vital to Ayurvedic medicine exist in this ecologically rich forest. Endangered vulture species continue to nest in the tall trees here. “If these trees are felled, the delicate ecological balance will be lost, threatening the survival of birds, reptiles, leopards, bears, foxes, jackals, blue bulls, sambhars, chitals, and wild boars. Extensive deforestation would also result in severe soil erosion,” he warned.
Environmentalists also raised concerns that the forest lies just 15 kilometers from Kuno National Park and is a critical part of the cheetah movement corridor connecting Madhav National Park, Kuno, and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. The proposed project would fragment this corridor and disrupt efforts under the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s Phase-1 Cheetah Meta-Population Management Plan.
The Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter after reports in Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar. In its order dated October 9, 2024, the court noted that the alternative afforestation land provided in Jaisalmer district is around 712 kilometers away and can absorb only 3,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide — a stark contrast to the 2.25 million metric tons currently absorbed by the Shahbad forest.
Neelam Ahluwalia, member of the National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice, stated, “The global average CO₂ concentration has reached 420 parts per million — 151% higher than pre-industrial levels. NASA reports that 2024 was about 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial average. In such a scenario, we must protect our carbon sinks and ecological lifelines.”
Robin Singh of the Green India Movement emphasized: “While the National Forest Policy aims for 33% forest cover, India currently has only about 20%. Citizens across the country expect the Prime Minister to intervene and ensure the preservation of Shahbad’s rich biodiversity, rather than allowing its destruction for a private energy project.”
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