Proposed power projects in Bihar may be delayed

The commissioning of proposed thermal power plants in Bihar, entailing an investment of Rs 50,000 cr, could be delayed as the work on the projects has been hit by various bottlenecks such as land acquisition and coal linkages, official sources said.     

Going by the pace of progress, the power stations are unlikely to see the light of day before 2012, according to official sources.     

Land acquisition and coal linkages are proving to be major bottlenecks for the power projects and the commissioning of plants could be delayed due to state government's unwillingness to acquire land by applying force, keeping perhaps in mind the trouble at Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal, the sources said.     

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has outrightly rejected the creation of a special economic zone and has said that land would not be acquired forcibly for setting up industries, the sources said.     

The state government has taken a policy decision that farmers giving their land for infrastructure development would be adequately compensated.     

The government recently announced that a person whose land would be acquired would get Rs 1.95 lakh per acre and if donated voluntarily he would get Rs 2.40 lakh per acre.

If any residential land was acquired, the land owner would get the cost of land for building house, Rs 10,000 for temporary accommodation and Rs 5,000 for carrying household goods.     

Out of 14 plants lined up for investment, only one plant being set up by JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Patna has made some progress as it has identified 415 acres of land for acquisition.