Reliance Power committed to Dadri project, says its CEO
04 Dec 2009
The Allahabad high court's decision to restore the rights of farmers to the lands acquired for the Dadri mega power project neither dilutes Reliance Power's commitment to the project nor is it a setback, its CEO said.
Reacting to the court's judgment upholding Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to restore farmers' right to protest land acquisitions, RPL chief executive J P Chalasani said he hoped the state government would take immediate steps to acquire land for the 7,480 MW gas-based project.
The company has all the approvals needed for the project, Chalasani said, adding that he expects the state government to take immediate steps to acquire land for the 7,480 MW gas-based project.
"We are reviewing the judgement, it is clear that land acquisition for the Dadri project has not been set aside," he said. "The state government has been directed by the court to follow certain procedures in the land acquisition process," he pointed out.
The court quashed the emergency powers invoked by the state for land acquisition and asked the state government to invite objections from landowners.
"As per the judgement, the landowners who wish to raise objections to the acquisition of their land are required to refund the compensation received by them and thereafter the government will decide on their objections," he said. "We are confident that the Uttar Pradesh government will expeditiously take requisite steps of land acquisition at the earliest to enable the implementation of the project," he added.
Chalasani said RPL was fully committed to the Rs25,000-crore mega power project.
