Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jan 2: Although local politicians have been shouting from rooftops that they will not allow Niddodi thermal power plant and Yettinahole river diversion project to see the light of the day, it appears that these two projects will go ahead as scheduled. The central cabinet has given its clearance to a proposal to promulgate an ordinance for acquiring land needed for pending projects by skipping certain important conditions set out in the law.

File picture of Yettinahole area

The union cabinet has given its go ahead for land acquisition for a number of pending projects. It is gathered that the decision taken by the cabinet has also got the assent of the President. It will be needed to be approved by the parliament next.

The union government has also been bringing ammendment to The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013. As per the ammendments, which are being made through ordinance, the precondition of obtaining consent of farmers, and study of social impact by the project do not apply to projects meant for national security, defence, electrification including rural infrastructure, industrial corridors and public-private-partnership projects involving social infrastructure.

File picture of Niddodi area

These ammendments, ostensibly brought for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects, have bewildered environmentalists, who were hoping to stall several projects including the above two, by rallying people's opinion against these projects. Not only barren land, even irrigated land can be acquired by the government without conforming to the earlier condition that 80 percent of land owners have to give their consent before the land could be acquired for certain projects stated above, as per the ammendment.

It is said that the government will ensure that compensation for the acquired lands will be paid four times the market rate as in the earlier act.