Shahbad forest in Baran, Rajasthan is not empty land.
It is a living ecosystem, home to wildlife, a lifeline for tribal communities, and a critical link in India’s conservation future.

Yet today, this forest is under threat from the proposed Shahpur Pumped Storage Project, which will require 624 hectares of land, including over 407 hectares of forest.
This raises serious concerns about irreversible ecological and social damage.

🌿 A Forest That Cannot Be Replaced
Shahbad forest is rich and irreplaceable:

• Home to Schedule I wildlife including leopards, sloth bears, wolves, striped hyenas, vultures, and pythons
• Contains over 100 plant species and about 450 medicinal plants
• Over 1.2 lakh trees may be felled

Destroying this forest will fragment habitats, increase human-wildlife conflict, and push vulnerable species closer to extinction.

 
🐆 A Critical Wildlife Corridor at Risk

This forest is not isolated.

It lies within the proposed Kuno–Gandhi Sagar wildlife corridor, a 17,000 sq km landscape identified as essential for the long-term survival of cheetahs in India.

Cheetahs have already been recorded moving into Rajasthan.
Breaking this corridor now could undermine one of India’s most important conservation efforts.

 
🧑🏽‍🌾 A Threat to Tribal Survival
For thousands of people, this forest is life:

• Around 2,500 residents depend on it
• About 400 belong to the Sahariya tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group
• Over 80% of their income comes from forest produce

Loss of forest means loss of food, income, culture, and identity, raising serious concerns under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

🌍 Climate and Water Reality
The project is presented as “green energy,” but:

• The region is drought-prone with no reliable perennial water source
• Water must be pumped from the seasonal Kuno river
• Reservoirs will face heavy evaporation for most of the year
• The forest currently acts as a carbon sink and climate buffer

Destroying forests for clean energy risks worsening climate impacts.

 
⚖️ Serious Concerns

• Only initial environmental clearance has been granted
• The project is under legal challenge
• Concerns over lack of proper local consultation
• The area overlaps with a notified Conservation Reserve

 
⚡ There Are Better Alternatives
Similar projects in Rajasthan are already being planned using:

• Existing reservoirs like Gudha Dam and Bisalpur
• Non-forest or degraded land

This shows that forest destruction is not necessary.

 
🚨 What We Demand
We are not against clean energy.
We are against destroying forests and communities in its name.

We demand:

1. Immediately halt all work on the Shahpur Pumped Water Storage project
2. Conduct a fresh, independent Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
3. Ensure free, prior, and informed consent of all affected communities
4. Fully recognize and protect Sahariya tribal rights under the Forest Rights Act
5. Reject any diversion of protected forest land for this project
6. Shift the project to non-forest or existing reservoir-based alternatives
7. Protect the Kuno–Gandhi Sagar wildlife corridor 

✊ Why Your Signature Matters
Once forests are cut, they do not come back.
Once wildlife corridors are broken, species disappear.
Once communities lose their land, the damage is permanent.

This is a decisive moment.

👉 Sign this petition
👉 Share it
👉 Help protect Shahbad forest before it is too late