In 1999, the state government allotted 1,122 acres to Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd (HNPCL) to construct a 1,040-megawatt thermal power plant at Palavalasa in Visakhapatnam district. The land acquisition in 15 villages under the four panchayats of Deveda, Pedavalasa, Chinnapalem and Nadupuru has affected more than 10,000 families whose livelihood depends on the land. They now work as daily wage labourers for an income.
A majority of this land was waqf land (land belonging to the Muslim Wakf Board), which the farmers were cultivating for generations. "According to the law, even a farmer who grows crops on wakf land has rights over the land and must be paid some compensation,” says Narasinga Rao, member of the State Secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). However, the authorities did not pay any compensation or rehabilitation to the farmers, stating that they did not own the land.
“The government declared 5,835 acres as wakf land. The farmers were not paid any compensation,” says B. Srinivas, former panchayat president of Deveda. “Earlier, they used to grow at least two crops of paddy a year, millets and other horticulture crops. It was their only source of livelihood for generations."
In 2012, the state government constituted a committee to look into irregularities in the power project. This included terms of land allotment and delay in commissioning the project. The report was supposed to be released on April 23, 2012, but it was never made public.
In July 2016, Hinduja commissioned the project, with coal allocation from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. However, in 2018, the power purchase agreement was cancelled due to excess supply of power.
In January 2020, a case was filed in the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity between the HPNCL and the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Board over the power supply and the cost of power.
Following an order from the Supreme Court, the plant was shut down from July 2020 to February 2022 and operations have only resumed since March 2022. The plant is running at a lower capacity than what was envisioned and aims to run at full capacity once discrepancies in certain calculations between Hinduja Power Corporation and the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Commission have been sorted out.
Additionally, the residents of Palavasa have also raised concerns regarding the alarming levels of pollution from the plant which is posing a significant hazard to their health as well as the environment. Although in 2020, the Central Pollution Control Board had slapped the Hinduja Thermal Power Plant with a penalty notice for non-compliance with pollution control and was fined 98 lakhs, little seems to have changed. Despite repeated requests for relocation by the residents, the Hinduja group has not taken any favourable action.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for compensation
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Demand for rehabilitation
Opposition against environmental degradation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project stalled
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Yes
Source/Reference
<https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/pac-directs-government-to-resume-unused-lands/article3610180.ece> [Project stalled due to irregularities in the way land was acquired]
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
125
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Land Acquisition Laws, Other, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Non-implementation/violation of PESA
Violation of environmental laws
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Yes
Name of the adjudicatory body
Supreme Court
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
CIVIL APPEAL NO.1844 OF 2020
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Government of Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh State electricity Board (APSEB)
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL)
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
YSRCP, CPM, CPI, Pendurthy Assembly Constituency
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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