Farmers fill pits dug up in fields to erect electric towers

Karnal, May 14

Amid heavy police presence, scores of farmers on Saturday filled the pits dug up for erecting high-tension power transmission towers and lines passing over the fields in Bandrala village of the Assandh block.

MEETING WITH HVPNL MD TOMORROW

We are ensuring the farmers get compensated as per the govt policy. But they are adamant on their demand of change in policy. So, we’ve arranged their meeting with the HVPNL MD on Monday. Anish Yadav, DC

The move halted the transmission line work to provide power supply for the ethanol plant of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) in Panipat, which will use stubble for clean fuel generation.

Earlier at a kisan mahapanchayat held in an Assandh gurdwara, the farmers announced not to allow the UHBVN to dig up more pits for laying the foundation of the towers.

They have been seeking a compensation of Rs 15 lakh per tower and Rs 5 lakh per acre for the land on which the lines would pass. The farmers are also demanding a change in the state government policy. Meanwhile, the authorities tried to pacify them, saying that they can’t go beyond the policy that was notified in March 2020. As per the policy, farmers will be given the rate of area on which the tower is erected apart from the compensation for the destroyed crop.

The farmers led by BKU president Gurnam Singh Charuni gave a call of a permanent morcha in the fields. Following which, DC Anish Yadav and SP Ganga Ram Punia held a meeting with them, which lasted for over two hours. They assured the farmers of a meeting with HVPNL managing director TL Satyaparkash on Monday, after which they went back to their homes.

Meanwhile, Charuni said erecting towers not only divides the fields, but also reduces the land value. Another farmer leader Bhadhur Singh Mehla said farmers should be compensated.

Notably, the UHBVN is erecting power lines to give supply to the IOCL from Moond sub-station. It is a 33-km-long line, where 135 power transmission towers are to be erected. As many as 119 towers have been erected by the UHBVN, while the farmers have been opposing the remaining 16.