Maharashtra stands by the 3,000-MW pumped-storage project at Saidongar in Karjat

11 November 2026

Maharashtra will go ahead with a 3,000-MW pumped-storage hydropower project at Saidongar in Karjat, the state's chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, has said. The plant is being developed by Torrent Power in the ecologically sensitive Sahyadri range. In such a plant, cheap solar power is used to pump water from a lower dam to an upper one when demand is low. The water is released to generate hydropower during peak demand, so the same water is reused through the year. The project needs about 233 hectares of forest land and the felling of 32,490 trees, which has drawn protests. Fadnavis said the company would take up afforestation to support the local ecosystem.