The standing committee constituted the independent expert committee after concerns were raised by its two members. The minutes of the standing committee meeting, made available on Wednesday, showed the members going into details of the site-inspection report.

The report's point that the pumped storage project only facilitates temporal shifting of electricity rather than net addition of generation capacity was considered.

However, while the report recommended the rejection of the project by noting that the projected benefits were not commensurate with irreversible ecological impacts in a legally protected and ecologically fragile landscape, the standing committee decided to seek more inputs.

"After discussions, the standing committee decided to defer the proposal with the direction that the state government may provide detailed justification regarding the increase in power availability from the project, examine alternative technologies for power storage outside the protected area for achieving similar objectives," it said.

More details sought

The site inspection report had exposed that Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) had concealed crucial details regarding power evacuation, noting that even upgradation of transmission lines would involve large-scale construction activities in a fragile landscape.

The standing committee did not comment on the concealment. Instead, it asked the state government to provide a detailed plan for evacuation of power. Additionally, comments have been sought from the National Institute of Advanced Studies on the project proposal along with clarifications on the issues raised.

"The proposal may be reconsidered by the standing committee after receipt of the required information from the state government," it said.