Patna: Farmers’ reluctance to part with their land is spoiling the Central government’s plan to commission the long-delayed Buxar thermal power plant at Chausa, located about 140km west from the state capital.
As part of the agreement reached among the SJVN Ltd, Bihar State Power (Holding) Corporation Company and the Bihar Power Infrastructure Company, construction of the 660×2 mega watt (MW) coal-based power plant was launched in 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 9, 2019 laid the foundation stone of the plant to be built at the cost of around ₹10,000 crore.
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Soon after the construction of work, the then chairman and managing director (CMD) of SJVN Ltd Nand Lal Sharma had said that plant would become fully operational by September 2023. However, the district administration has not been able to acquire about 200 acre land, which will provide crucial coal and water linkages to the plant.
District magistrate, Buxar, Anshul Agrawal admitted issues in land acquisition, but hoped that they would succeeded in convincing the farmers and required land would be handed over to the plant for linkages. “Apart from adequate compensation, we are offering relief and rehabilitation grant to the affected farmers, which makes up for wages of 750 days. Farmers are now coming up slowly,” said a senior officer of the district administration.
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The inordinate delay in construction of the plant has worried the Central government, which had sent Union power secretary Pankaj Agarwal to take stock of the ground reality and resolve the issues. The Union secretary had visited the plant site after holding meeting with the officials of the district administration on August 12. He also interacted with a delegation of farmers, led by Ashok Prasad Singh, general secretary, Bihar Rajya Kisan Sabha, and Dinesh Kumar, Bihar in-charge of Bharatiya Kisan Union and apprised him about the unrest prevailing among farmers over acquisition of ‘disproportionate’ area of land for the plant.
Farmer leaders alleged that the district administration was bent on acquiring ‘fertile’ land in length of around 20-22km to lay railway track from Chausa railway station to the plant, which is barely 3km far. “Similarly, 10-12km stretch of land is being acquired to lay the pipeline from the river Ganga, which could easily be reduced,” said Ashok Singh during their meeting with the Union secretary.
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Allegations of inadequate compensation in acquisition of the land for main plant (1048 acre) by the farmers has led to at least two rounds of violent clashes between local people and the police. A clash had erupted between the farmers and the police on March 21 near the plant site in which several villagers, including women and aged ones, were mercilessly beaten up and arrested on the charges of vandalising the project property. Some of the villagers are still behind the bars, while several others are evading the arrest. Earlier on January 11, 2023, a violent clash had taken place between the villagers and the police on the issue of ‘inadequate compensation’.
Farmer leaders alleged that a simmering discontent was prevailing among the local farmers over fresh round of land acquisition and any untoward incident might happen if corrective steps were not taken immediately. The district officials said that they had launched the process of acquire about 137 acre land for the railway track from Chausa railway station and 71 acre to lay the pipeline from plant to the river Ganga. “About 80-85 farmers have taken compensation and another camp will be held next month to offer the compensation in lieu of their land,” said a senior officer.
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Farmer leaders on the other hand claimed that the district authorities were allying all sort of tricks to acquire the land for railway and water linkages. “There are more than 1,300 farmers, whose land are set to be acquired. But only a handful people, who had abysmal stake and litigated land, have agreed to part with the land,” claimed Ashok Singh.
