ROURKELA: Land losers of the 4,000 mega watt (MW) Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Sundargarh district have a reason to cheer as efforts have started to transfer the acquired land for a 1600 MW project after scrapping of the UMPP.
The High Level Clearance Authority in Odisha on September 11,2023 had given the go ahead for transfer of the Bhedabahal UMPP’s land in Sadar block to the Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd (MBPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to set up its long-pending 1600 MW power plant.
On Saturday, Sundargarh sub-collector Dasarathi Sarabu held a meeting with the project-affected families (PAFs) of the UMPP informing them of the latest development and asking them to provide names of their representatives for reconstitution of the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC).
“The PAFs sought fresh land compensation as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 after the previous land acquisition was done under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894,” Sarabu said. They also wanted fresh evaluation of structures and trees and R&R benefits as per the 2013 Act and finalisation of R&R colony in consultation with them, he added.
The district administration in March 2023 had written to the government that desperate PAFs were frequently putting grievances of facing acute financial hardship and livelihood concerns with the UMPP scrapped.
Also, the MBPL’s super critical coal-fired power project had received approval in 2010 and the Ministry of Coal had given the ‘in-principle’ approval to the MCL for leasing of 858.60 acre of land to MBPL at Tiklipara, Sardega and part of Gopalpur villages in Hemgir block of Sundargarh in 2016.
However, after scrapping of the UMPP the MBPL had opted to locate its project in Sadar block and take possession of the entire land of about 3,300 acre for future expansion. The MBPL proposal got a boost after the Central government on January 18 approved equity investment of Rs 4,784 crore against the project’s estimated cost of about Rs 15,947 crore.
UMPP project failing to take off
Notifications for acquisition of private land and alienation of government land of 3,300 acre issued in 2010 for UMPP
It was a project of Orissa Integrated Power Ltd (OIPL), an SPV of the central PSU Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
By 2014, administration paid 99 per cent of land compensation against 2,732 acre of private land amounting to about to about Rs 614.50 crore
Lankahuda, Kopsingha and Rupudihi villages were fully affected while Kirei, Kandabahal and Bhedabahal in Sadar block partially affected
Release of compensation for structures and trees and settlement of R&R claims could not progress with the UMPP project failing to take off