Govt must give better compensation to landowners, say energy experts….Dharmendra Jore
International and national energy experts expect the government to ensure better compensation and long-term benefits for the farmers who give up their land for power project or any other utility. Speaking at the Golden Maharashtra Summit held by the Maharashtra Economic Development Corporation on Thursday,most panelists said power projects should not be held up because of land acquisition issues.
Luis Anthony Olive Hawley, head of International Trade and Investment unit of the Mexican Trade Commission, said his country assessed the particular land as per its yielding capacity (income) before acquiring it for the projects. “The benefit are passed on to landowners in the long term,” he said, adding, “The government has to be very clear on land rights.”
Shardul Kulkarni, principal, Tata Strategic Management Group, proposed profit sharing by the landowners and project developers. “Similar (model of profit sharing) could be adopted. And if revenue is shared, the landowners would be more than happy in the long term.”
The recommendations are significant in view of the ongoing statewide agitations against land acquisition for several power projects.
However, energy secretary Subrat Ratho couldn’t attend the seminar because of a busy schedule.
Ajay Shaw, associate partner, DSK Legal, opined that the land acquisition bill, which is still awaiting the Parliament’s approval, would help resolve the issue.
“Remember that the right to property is not a basic right, but right to compensation is… I think that the bill, when approved, will pave way for all delayed projects,” he said.
Himanshoo Khare, Suzlon Energy Limited’s general manager, business development, kept his brief limited to praising the state government for making encouraging policies. “It is because of these policies that my company could achieve a significant capacity addition in a short span of time. Maharashtra has become the number two state after Tamil Nadu in terms of renewable energy installed capacity.”
According to Sanjay Mandavkar, executive director of YES Bank, the socio-economic aspects play an important role in promoting any industry.