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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | NTPC alters land stand in Bengal by Meghdeep Bhattacharyya

NTPC alters land stand in Bengal by Meghdeep Bhattacharyya

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published Published on Nov 5, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 5, 2011

The NTPC has changed its stand and decided to scout for land for its power project in Burdwan’s Katwa, taking on an unpalatable task that reflects Trinamul’s clout at the Centre.

“We had requested the Bengal government to acquire land for us. Now, we have agreed to acquire land on our own,” a senior official of the central power utility said. The NTPC needs to acquire around 550 acres.

Power department sources said the NTPC’s management changed its decision following discussions with state power minister Manish Gupta and secretary Moloy De earlier this week.

The utility needs 1,100 acres for the 1,600MW project. The Left government had acquired about half of the land.

After Mamata Banerjee came to power, she refused to acquire “even an inch of land” for the project and told the NTPC that either it had to buy land directly or complete the project on the land it had.

According to estimates of the Eastern Regional Power Committee, 0.65-0.7 acre is required for every megawatt generated. On the basis of this formula, it had been decided that 1,040-1,120 acres would be required for the Katwa plant.

As the land impasse continued, the NTPC’s interest in the project waned. But sources at Writers’ said the Bengal government “pulled strings” in the Centre to persuade the NTPC brass into agreeing to scout for land.

“We have decided to start the acquisition process immediately so that we can finish the project in three years,” the NTPC official said.

Questions have, however, been raised about the feasibility of the NTPC’s decision.

The project was handed over to the central utility in December 2010 after the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) failed to set up the plant because of resistance from around 4,600 land owners, who organised themselves under the Trinamul-backed Save Farmland Cultivators and Agricultural Workers’ Committee.

“Nobody doubts the amount of resources the NTPC has at its disposal for the purchase. But getting such a huge quantum of land in a place like Katwa without opposition could be a tough ask,” said an official of the land and land reforms department.

He said acquiring over 550 acres would be difficult “in a state where the memories of Singur and Nandigram are still fresh”.

Power department officials refused comment on what the government planned to do if the NTPC failed to buy the land.

Although the draft of the state’s land policy includes power plants in the list of public welfare projects for which the government can acquire land, Mamata has made it clear that she will not deviate from her hands-off land policy.

The NTPC project is critical for Bengal. The chief minister’s reluctance to raise the power tariff of state-run utilities has resulted in a deterioration of the power situation since June.

The Telegraph, 5 November, 2011, http://telegraphindia.com/1111105/jsp/nation/story_14711523.jsp


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