The Gujarat government on Friday agreed to several key demands of the farmers who have been protesting in Jetpar village in Morbi for higher compensation for use of their land for power infrastructure being erected by Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL).
The government announced its decision on the day The Indian Express reported on the farmers’ protest that has been ongoing for more than three weeks, and a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to travel to Gujarat to inaugurate a semiconductor facility in Sanand.
The government has agreed to take the market price of the farmers’ land as the baseline instead of the jantri (circle) rate, and to award them double that amount as compensation.
This is a significant concession, even though this compensation is still less than what the farmers have been demanding. The farmers said on Friday that the agitation would continue until a Government Resolution (GR) was issued conceding their demands.
The farmers in Jetpar have been protesting against the installation of a 756 kV DC line by Halvad Transmission Limited over a distance of 246 km from the KPS-2 Pooling Station in Khavda, Kutch, to a new switching station at Halvad in Morbi. Halvad Transmission Ltd is a Special Purpose Vehicle of AESL, the country’s largest private-sector power transmission and distribution company.
Gujarat Agriculture Minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said on Friday that the government, after studying the policy in other states, had decided “to increase the compensation to ensure lakhs of farmers in the state get fair and market-based compensation for their land”.
The farmers had demanded compensation at the rate of 400% of the market price of their land. Vaghani said they would be paid double the market price.
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Also, the compensation will now be calculated on the basis of an area larger than the actual base area of the electricity tower.
“From now on, for the benefit of the farmers, more compensation will be paid by calculating one additional square metre on each side of the base area of the tower. For example, in the 765 kV transmission line, compensation was earlier given for 625 square metres, which has been revised to 729 square metres,” Vaghani said.
The government has also agreed to the farmers’ demand to form a MRC (Market Rate Committee) to determine the actual market price of the land in a neutral and transparent manner.
“The committee (MRC) will be headed by the District Collector, and will have representatives of affected landowners, an authorised market valuer nominated by farmers, and representatives of the transmission service provider along with an authorised valuer nominated by the company. The inclusion of farmer representatives is intended to ensure transparency and protect farmers’ interests during the valuation process,” Ashwini Kumar, principal secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals, said.
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Also, the compensation will be paid out in advance and in one installment, as the protesting farmers had demanded. The current system is one of staggered payment in three installments.
Claiming that the transmission towers and high-tension power cables on their land would lead to a massive reduction of its value, the farmers had put forth a set of six demands, including the creation of a Market Rate Committee (MRC) to determine the market price of the land; compensation amounting to 400% of the market price as determined by the MRC for the tower area; separate compensation slabs for the secure ‘Right of Way’ (RoW) area around the power lines in rural, municipality, and municipal corporation areas; and full advance payment of compensation.
“Demands from various farmer organisations, kisan sangh, and individual farmers were received by the Chief Minister,” Vaghani said. “After consultations…chaired by the CM and Deputy Chief Minister who asked us to take decisions with an open mind in the farmers’ interest…, the Gujarat government has taken this historic decision. A major amendment has been made by the government…,” he said.
Vaghani added that the “benefits of the revised policy will also be available to farmers whose compensation had been determined under the earlier rates, but on whose lands the transmission line projects are still under execution”.
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The power transmission infrastructure is coming up on land in around 400 villages in Kutch and Morbi.
