New norms to make land acquisition 'onerous': Power Grid

NEW DELHI: Already faced with "numerous hurdles" in carrying out daily business, state-run Power Grid has said that purchasing land for its projects will become "onerous" with the new land acquisition and resettlement laws.


Power Grid Corp, the central utility responsible for construction of electricity transmission lines, plans to take significant chunk of projects in the coming months.

"We foresee numerous hurdles and challenges in conducting our daily business. This scenario will only become more onerous in the future in the light of the proposed statutory enactments like Land Acquisition and R&R (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act...," the company has said in its 2012-13 annual report.

The much talked about Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to provide just and fair compensation, among others, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

According to Power Grid, land acquisition has become a huge problem in implementation of transmission projects.

The report said: "With scarce land availability, particularly in metros and other urban areas, there is growing need for reduction of land use for setting up of sub-stations.

"Settling compensation to land owners is matter of concern which delays the land acquisition process."

To deal with the issues, the company has developed its own Environmental and Social Policy & Procedures ( ESPP).

"Under ESPP, in addition to the compensation awarded by the state revenue authorities, additional rehabilitation amount is also considered for payment to the affected families and R&R activities are also implemented in the affected villages," Power Grid said.

Major concerns in development of transmission networks include 'Right of Way' (RoW), acquisition and optimal use of land for sub-stations and obtaining forest clearances.