Dadri land acquisition not on hold: R-Power

Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Power (R-Power) today claimed that the Allahabad High Court has not set aside land acquisition for its proposed gas-fired power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

The company has all approvals needed for the project, R-Power Chief Executive Officer (CEO) J P Chalasani said in a conference call today.

Chalasani, who did not take questions, said R-Power was fully committed to the implementation of the power plant at an investment of over Rs 25,000 crore.

"We are reviewing the judgement, it is clear that land acquisition for the Dadri project has not been set aside," he said. "The state government has been directed by the court to follow certain procedures in the land acquisition process."

The court, which quashed the emergency powers invoked by the state for land acquisition, also asked the state to invite objections from land owners.

"As per the judgement, the land owners who wish to raise objections to the acquisition of their land (for the project) are required to refund the compensation received by them and thereafter the government will decide on their objections," he said. "We are confident that the Uttar Pradesh government will expeditiously take requisite steps of land acquisition at the earliest to enable the implementation of the project."

Chalasani accused unnamed corporate rivals of "distorting the scope and effect of the judgement" and spreading "malicious and false information through their known PR agencies".