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Erection of high tension towers causes huge loss to farmers
The erection of high tension electric towers in Kalikirimandal of Chittoor district led to a controversy with either the transmission company or the contractor concerned have not fulfilled any norms.
Tirupati: The erection of high tension electric towers in Kalikirimandal of Chittoor district led to a controversy with either the transmission company or the contractor concerned have not fulfilled any norms.
The farmers of agricultural lands where the towers were being erected have no information. No notice was served to them to seek their consent before starting the work.
Highlights:
- Crops cannot be grown under the cable line from one tower to another tower due to radiation and other effects
- Contractor in Kalikiri mandal threatening the farmers of dire consequences if they obstruct his work
- Farmers say no notice is served to them seeking their consent before starting the works
When a tower for high-tension electric cables of 765 KV is erected, about 20 cents of land will go waste, which cannot be cultivated. Similarly, under the cable line from one tower to another tower also crop cannot be grown due to radiation and other effects.
The farmers will get huge loss with this. If any farmer objects for tower being erected in his fields, contractor’s staff were threatening them, saying that it is a Central government work. If anybody obstruct them should face police cases.
AP Farmers Federations district president ReddivariSreenivasulu Reddy said in the entire Kalikirimandal, 400-500 farmers will be affected with these towers which were meant for power transmission between Kadapa and Chattisgarh. The farmers were sowing groundnut, pomegranate, mango and horticulture crops in their fields. The proclainersbeing used for digging the field to place the towers, were damaging their crops heavily.
To find a solution the affected farmers went as a group to the contractor’s staff on Wednesday, and strongly objected the works being carried out there without any notice to them.
After some heated arguments, the staff were forced to leave the place by stopping the works. They questioned the attitude of threatening them even without giving any notification. No farmer was paid any compensation. The works of some towers were completed 90 percent while others were going on now, Sreenivasulu Reddy said.
Basically, the farmers have no awareness on the rules and the impact of cables and towers on their fields, he said and added it was only after the Farmers’Federation went there and explained them about the consequences, they have moved as a group.
He said the contractor should follow all the norms and pay the compensation. Without doing this, they were damaging the crops resulting huge losses to farmers.
Chief Advisor of National Farmers Federation PeddireddyChengal Reddy said under the Electricity Act they can erect towers in farm fields. But they must follow certain norms under rule 3(1A) of GO No.24which states the consent of farmers is a must. If farmers do not give consent under Rule 3(2), transmission company must take approval from collector. The Collector, in turn, must discuss with farmers and fix compensation or annual rent or both according to his discretion to be paid to the farmers by the transmission company.
In March, the State government has authorised the collectors in this regard that is after 10 years of issuing the GO, Chengal Reddy pointed out.
The farmers are eligible to get 100 percent land value as compensation where the tower is located and 10 percent of land value under the cable lines. Nothing was followed in Kalikiri, he said. He strongly questioned, why the transmission companies were resorting to such unethical practices? Is the Collector having no information?
When similar problem was arisen when HT towers were erected from Krishnapatnam Port in Nellore district to Gangadhara in Chittoor district, the Federation submitted a complaint to then Collector in 2014. Still it was not resolved, he stressed.
The farmers will file a case on Thursday against the company which is responsible for the erection of HT towers in Kalikirimandal.
He recalled, when similar problem arose in Anantapur district recently, where the father and a son were seriously injured also, the High Court took up the case as ‘suomotu’.
By V Pradeep Kumar
