PowerGrid pays Rs 103-cr compensation for land

Country’s largest power transmission company, Power Grid Corporation, has paid about Rs 103 crore as compensation to farmers for land acquisition in the last two years. The land was acquired for construction of sub-stations and compensation was offered according to the demand of the state government, which gives it to the landowners or farmers, the government said in a statement here.

According to figures given by the government, the company has paid a total of Rs 102.91 crore in 11 states as compensation in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The states include – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

PowerGrid does not acquire any land for construction of transmission lines. However, for construction of sub-station, land is acquired by the state government concerned according to the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, as amended from time to time, an official statement said.

The statement was issued after farmers registered their protest on the compensation offered by the PowerGrid. According to reports, a group of farmers from Gujarat, in November, had challenged the land acquisition process undertaken by the PowerGrid in the Gujarat high court. This development came after PowerGrid began acquiring land between south Gujarat and Navi Mumbai for its 440 KV line.