Hyderabad, Aug. 9: APGenco has paid a record price of Rs 7.5 lakh per acre to acquire land for its prestigious Krishnapatnam thermal project to avoid a Sompeta-like situation wherein public protest over a thermal power project led to police firing.
The ‘Sompeta effect,’ so to say, is now highly visible in the power sector in terms of imposing stringent environment and forest guidelines and acquiring land at high costs to prevent the populace from becoming restive. “Post Sompeta, acquiring land for thermal stations has become a Herculean task,” said Mr K. Vijayanand, managing director of APGenco.
Earlier, AP Genco had purchased land for less than Rs 1 lakh per acre but it paid through the nose to acquire land for its 1,600 MW Krishnapatnam super critical project near Nellore. Recently, it also paid market price to acquire half acre of land in Kothagudem without invoking land acquisition provisions. Project developers have become wary after the Sompeta incident.