Chief minister Nitish Kumar at the foundation laying ceremony of the Nabinagar power project in Aurangabad on Saturday. Telegraph picture

Patna, Jan. 28: With the hurdles of land acquisition out of the way, Nitish Kumar today laid the foundation of the 1,980MW Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project, exuding confidence that his government will succeed in fulfilling its electoral promise to the people in the power-starved state.

“This auspicious day (Basant Panchami) will go down in history as the day when the state effectively embarked on the process to become self-reliant in the power sector,” the chief minister announced as he gave a green signal to the beginning of the work on Rs 12,964.5-crore project, coming up as a joint venture of the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Nitish has reasons to feel confident. Farmers in the Nabinagar region in Aurangabad district were relentlessly agitating against the acquisition of their land for the project for over two years. The state and the district administration had exhausted all its efforts to convince the agitators.

The chief minister, during his Seva Yatra in Aurangabad recently, took it upon himself to solve the vexed issue. He involved his political cadres, including the JD(U) medical cell chief L.B. Singh, to get in touch with the farmers. Nitish raised the compensation for land acquisition from Rs 14 lakh per acre to Rs 21 lakh per acre and persuaded the farmers to sell their land for the mega power project.

Now the government has the entire 2,832.85 acres in its possession to start the project, which promises to offer 70 per cent of its generation to the state. “All the formalities necessary to build the plant had already been completed,” Nitish said, asserting, “With the issue of land also settled now, nothing will prevent us from setting up this super project.”

“I am glad that the farmers are also happy with the project. I never wanted to do anything at the cost of the farmers’ interests,” he added.

A massive crowd of villagers gathered to see Nitish laying the foundation stone of the mega project. Addressing the people, the chief minister re-iterated his promise to pay compensation at the rate of Rs 21 lakh per acre and went a step further announcing: “All the displaced people would be re-habilitated.”

Nitish said initially three plants generating 1,980MW (3X660MW) would come up in the area. Subsequently, two more plants (2X660MW) will be built, taking the super project’s total power generation capacity to 3,300MW.

The chief minister, during his election campaign in 2010, had expressed confidence about setting up the Nabinagar power project if he was voted back to power. “I feel immensely satisfied starting the work on the project that will help the state become self-reliant in power sector.”

Nitish recalled how people had misconstrued his sanctioning the Barh Super Thermal Power Project in 1998, when he became the Union railway minister for the first time.

“Rumours had gained ground that the Barh project was coming up at the cost of the Nabinagar project,” Nitish said, adding, “I moved the proposal for the clearance of the Nabinagar project after I became railway minister for the second time (in 2001).”

“It is heartening for me and for the entire state that the Nabinagar project is going to be a reality now,” he added.