By IANS
Kozhikode (Kerala) : A survey by the Power Grid Corporation India Limited (PGCIL) for erecting a 400 KV line from Mysore in Karnataka to Areekode in Kerala – stopped following protests by farmers here – will resume Dec 1.
The agreement to resume the survey was reached after talks between the state Electricity Minister A.K. Balan, Kozhikode district collector A. Jayathilak, PGCIL officials, representatives of the farmers’ organisations and political parties at Thiruvananthapuram Friday.
The farmers were demanding compensation equivalent to the market price for the land acquired for laying the power line.
“At the meeting it was decided that the farmers would be provided compensation for the land on par with the current price existing in the area. After the survey, another meeting will be held with the minister to chalk out the next phase of work,” said Father Antony Kozhuvanal, general secretary of Infam, a farmers’ organisation, who attended the meeting.
The farmers in the region had been opposing the project as the power line, which will need a strip of land about 60 metres wide and will necessitate large scale felling of trees including crops like rubber and coconut. The farmers have been demanding realignment of power line that it will result in minimum damage.
“The meeting could not agree on the realignment. However, the PGCIL has agreed to erect the line in such a way that it will cause minimum damage to crops,” Fr Kozhuvanal told IANS.