Farmers can earn Rs. 30k/acre by leasing land for green energy

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to explore green energy generation on a big day saying farmers can earn Rs 30,000 per acre by giving their lands on lease for the purpose.

Speaking at the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting at Tadepalli on Wednesday evening, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said there is immense potential for green energy production of over 30,000 MW in the State, which requires about 90,000 acres.

He said that green energy projects are going to be of great benefit to farmers as they can earn a minimum lease of Rs 30,000 per acre as a fixed income, especially to those in rain-fed areas. He directed the officials to look at those projects for which MoUs have been signed and are yet to start their operations.

SIPB meeting chaired by Reddy approved setting up of a 3700 MW pumped storage project undertaken by Adani Green Energy at an investment of Rs 15,376 crore as per talks held at World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos sometime ago.

During the meeting it was discussed that Adani Green Energy project will be developed in four phases, where the first phase will be taken up in 2022-23 at a cost of Rs 1,349 crore, second phase in 2023-24 with Rs 6,984 crore, third phase with Rs 5,188 crore and the final phase will be completed in 2025-26 with Rs 1,855 crore creating a total employment of 4,000 jobs. Along with this, few other projects in Kadapa, Parvatipuram, Satya Sai districts were also cleared by the board for generating green energy.

SIPB approved setting up of a garment manufacturing industry by Punctuate World Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 50 crore in Pulivendula and Kopparthi providing employment to 4,200 people. The board also gave its nod for Avisa Foods Pvt Ltd's Shrimp Processing Industry at Mellavelli Foodpark of Krishna district at a cost of Rs 150 crore. The project will create 2,500 jobs.

Clearance was given to set up a hotel (VVPL) at Tirupati under the Novotel brand by investing Rs 126.48 crore and creating direct employment to 300 people and indirect employment to over 2,700 people.

According to an official release, the government decided to transform Kopparthi electronic park into a Textile Region Apparel Park, where a Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks will be developed in 1,200 acres to produce quality products at low manufacturing costs and to create better employment opportunities. The Chief Minister has instructed the officials to prioritise connecting the area with railways as the government will provide uninterrupted electricity, water and other infrastructure facilities to the parks.