A month-long farmers’ protest in Morbi district of Gujarat against a green energy transmission project by the Adani Group, which threatened to snowball into a state-level agitation, has compelled the Bhupendra Patil government to raise the land compensation.
The agitating farmers had demanded a compensation up to four times the market rate for giving “right of way” to the transmission towers and power lines corridors that they said left their plots virtually uncultivable and reduced their price.
The state had initially offered a compensation at twice the government-fixed “jantri rate”, which is lower than the market price.
Besides the Adani Group, the Reliance Group and state-owned Powergrid Corporation too are laying green power transmission projects in the same region and in other parts of Gujarat, opening up the possibility of similar agitations.
As an indefinite hunger strike by 11 agitating farmers in Morbi completed 16 days, the state’s BJP government on Friday announced several pro-farmer measures to placate the movement.
At a news conference, agriculture minister Jitu Vaghani, energy minister Kanubhai Desai and minister of state for energy Mukesh Patel said that under a revised policy, the farmers would receive “fair, transparent and market-linked” compensation for land affected by the power transmission infrastructure.
They said the farmers would now be compensated at double the market rate instead of double the “jantri rate”.
Further, the method of calculating the compensation has been revised in the farmers’ favour. Now, instead of taking only the actual base area of a transmission tower into account, an extra metre will be added on all four sides to arrive at the compensable
area.
The government added that the farmers would be paid the full compensation upfront before any installations were made in their fields, instead of the earlier system of payment in instalments.
It has also been decided to form a market rate committee with the district collector, representatives of the affected landowners, an authorised market valuer representing the farmers, and a representative of the transmission service provider. The committee will determine the actual market value of the land for all future requirements.
But the farmers are continuing the fast, which entered its 18th day on Sunday. They want a written government resolution, not mere oral assurances. Besides, they say, they had demanded compensation at 400 per cent of the market rate, not 200 per cent.
The initial protests had been sporadic ones, held in various parts of the districts affected by the Adani power project, but the main agitation at Jetpar village began early in June with demonstrations at the Morbi district collectorate.
This was followed by 17 agitating farmers shaving their heads during a symbolic meeting to “mourn the death of humanity and justice within Gautam Adani”, where they held up placards dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “traitor”.
These 17 farmers launched the indefinite fast in Morbi, the worst-affected district, with the number later dwindling to 11.
As support flowed in from across the state, thousands of farmers marched to Gandhinagar under the leadership of the Congress — on tractors, bullock carts, cars and two-wheelers. Some others arrived by public transport and some on foot.
The state governmentheld an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where several ministers expressed concern over the agitation and suggested paying higher compensation to thefarmers sources in the state secretariat said.
The high-voltage infrastructure being created under Adani Energy Solutions Ltd’s Khavda Renewable Energy Park, fashioned as the world’s largest green energy hub, is expected to affect vast swathes of cultivable land.
A protester in Jetpar said the original compensation offer — as fixed by the Morbi district land valuation committee — was ₹979 per square metre for land on which the transmission towers were being installed. For the power lines corridors crossing the farms, the original offer was ₹761 per square metre.
The farmers were demanding 400 per cent of (four times) the market rate for the towers and 230 per cent for the overhead power lines’ corridors.
Their argument was that the power infrastructure would render their land permanently uncultivable,spelling doom for a huge majority of the small and marginal farmers who hold small land parcels.
The project’s first phase involves the transmission of 7,000MW of renewable energy from the Khavda generation hubs in Kutch, via heavy-duty 765kV and 800kV voltage power lines, through 301km of agricultural fields across at least seven districts, including Morbi. The other districts are Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Surendranagar, Patan and Banaskantha.
The energy park will eventually have a total generation capacity of 30,000MW.
The project will affect hundreds of farmers in at least six talukas (tehsils) of Morbi since the critical 765kV switching station, which integrates the entire transmission grid, is in Halvad in Morbi district. There are regional sub-stations in Bhuj and Lakadia in Kutch district and in Ahmedabad.
Agitating Morbi farmer leaders, including Rakesh Amrutiya who is the brother of state minister and Morbi MLA Kanti Amrutiya, had last week said they had no objection to the power transmission project but would not buckle under pressure and accept a paltry compensation.
“They have forcibly got into our land without even consulting us and now they are not even spelling out a fair compensation. We have no problem with any infrastructure project, but not like this,” Rakesh, one of those on hunger strike, had said.
This was before Friday’s new compensation offer.
Rakesh claimed that the installation of the transmission towers had affectedfertile land to such an extent that even the sowing ofcrops had become difficult, if not impossible.
“The agitation is continuing in the Gandhian manner of Satyagrah, but it may worsen and get out of hand if the government does not initiate concrete measures to award a fair compensation to the farmers,” Rakesh had said.
The farmers had rejected the state government’s initial invitations for negotiations, asserting they did not trust any “hollow promises”.
Adanis: Fair
A spokesperson for Adani Energy Solutions Limited, speaking before Friday’s revised compensation offer, had said: “AESL is fully committed to engaging with the landowners and paying them a fair compensation as determined by the civic administration under the law but some vested interests are instigating the landowners.”
The spokesperson said AESL had offered compensation to the landowners in keeping with government guidelines under the existing norms, but “certain landowners have demanded compensation in excess of the government guidelines”.
“As part of the statutory process, we approached the district officials for directions, who after multiple rounds of hearing with all stakeholders, have determined compensation and granted permission for AESL to continue work and if needed, under police protection,” the spokesperson said in a written statement.