Jaitapur displaced to get Rs 22.5 lakh/ha compensation

To benefit about 2,300 affected people; Nuclear Power Corporation reiterates readiness to spend more on relief, rehabilitation

People who stand to lose their land to the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district are to get compensation of Rs 22.5 lakh a hectare, instead of the earlier Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh a hectare, the state government has announced, as a “special case”.

The notification was issued last week. It will benefit 2,335 project-affected persons (PAPs), following the acquisition of 938 hectares for the 9,900 Mw project. So far, hardly a tenth of the PAPs had collected the compensation money at the earlier slab, from the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC). They, too, will get additional compensation as in the revised package.

This is the first such revision for any major infrastructure project proposed in Maharashtra since the Union Cabinet cleared the amended Land Acquisition Bill in December.

An NPC official closely associated with the project implementation told Business Standard: “ The state government’s notification is a positive move. NPC will spend Rs 211 crore on payment of compensation to PAPs.

In addition, the company has proposed expenditure of Rs 150 crore, which includes Rs 2 crore per village to provide and upgrade civic amenities and Rs 5 lakh per PAP in lieu of a job. Besides, an annual provision of Rs 25 lakh per village will be made for maintaining civic amenities and it will be increased by 10 per cent every three years. In addition to these, NPC will also spend as per the provisions of the amended Land Acquisition Bill.”

However, Adwait Pednekar, co-convenor of the Konkan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, a non-government organisation organising the affected people, said: “We are strongly opposed to the project. There is no question of accepting the government’s decision on revised compensation.”

The NPC official said the company would pay a rehabilitation grant equal to 750 days of the legal minimum agricultural labour wage to those who lose their land entirely and 500 days equivalent to those enough to become marginal land holders.

For those who become small land owners after takeover, it will be 375 days. For rural labour, they’ll pay a rehabilitation grant of 625 days wages. A lifetime minimum pension of Rs 500 a month will be paid to vulnerable persons, deserted women, the shelterless and destitutes in the four affected villages.

The official said NPC would also spend on construction of educational institutes, including industrial training institutes, and hospitals. This entails an investment of about Rs 350 crore.