Anger is growing in Maharashtra’s Raigad district against a 3,000 MW pumped-storage project being built by the Torrent Group in Karjat, days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the area on November 3 to inaugurate it.

Videos and photographs of tree felling in Saidongar, Karjat tehsil, have circulated widely on social media, prompting objections from environmental activists, local residents, civil society groups and opposition parties. On October 14, the Maharashtra Forest Department approved the felling of 32,490 trees for the project. This came months after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had granted environmental clearance on January 12, 2026.

While unnamed forest officials have told the media the plan to axe the trees has been halted, and there is no clarity on its resumption, opposition parties such as the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have said protests will continue until the project is cancelled.  

आज मी, शिवसेना नेते खासदार संजय राऊत जी, शिवसेना उपनेत्या सुषमा अंधारे ताई यांच्यासह कर्जत येथील साई डोंगर परिसराला भेट देऊन पाहणी केली. विकासाच्या गोंडस नावाखाली सह्याद्रीच्या कुशीत निसर्गाचं जे क्रूर हत्याकांड सुरू आहे, ते पाहून मन सुन्न झालं!'टोरंट पॉवर' कंपनीच्या… pic.twitter.com/ylFvF4Cqqd— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) October 26, 2026

आज मी, शिवसेना नेते खासदार संजय राऊत जी, शिवसेना उपनेत्या सुषमा अंधारे ताई यांच्यासह कर्जत येथील साई डोंगर परिसराला भेट देऊन पाहणी केली. विकासाच्या गोंडस नावाखाली सह्याद्रीच्या कुशीत निसर्गाचं जे क्रूर हत्याकांड सुरू आहे, ते पाहून मन सुन्न झालं!'टोरंट पॉवर' कंपनीच्या… pic.twitter.com/ylFvF4Cqqd

While some social media posts wrongly attributed the project to the Adani Group, it is being developed by Torrent PSH 3 Private Limited, a subsidiary of Torrent Power, which is controlled by the Mehta family, and has donated at least Rs 137 crore to the BJP between May 2019........

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