The Charanka solar park, once touted to be Asia's largest solar park, was launched in 2010. The Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) was in-charge of setting up the plant. Spread across 5365 acres of land, the solar park has a capacity of 600 MW. The project was expected to usher in a new era of renewable energy, generating employment and building infrastructure for neighbouring villages. The villagers were promised jobs, roads, free electricity, and clean water. A decade has passed since the solar park's inauguration but many of those promises have not been fulfilled. Only a handful of people have received jobs at the park, primarily as security guards, while common water resources in the area have been fenced off by GPCL, reducing access to drinking water for animals. Developmental activities too are yet to take off.
The project affected two key groups of people: pastoral community members or Maldharis of the area and land owners affected by the project. Maldhari community members have been opposing the park as it is constructed on their grasslands which they have traditionally used for grazing their animals. Speaking to media organisations, Maldharis have objected to the fact that grasslands had been marked as 'unused land' by the government. According to the GPCL website, the solar park is spread across 'unused' land and 'wastelands'. But as per the project map, 2000 acres of the acquired land was under cultivation, and the rest was government land. The solar park's construction has reduced their access to grazing resources, causing several Maldharis to give up on livestock rearing, and rely on daily wage jobs to sustain themselves. They were neither compensated nor accounted for by the government while lands were acquired for this project.
The land owners had filed a public interest litigation in the High Court of Gujarat in 2012, demanding an investigation in the manner in which land acquisition was carried out by GPCL for the project. The land owners alleged that many parcels of land were purchased by a few individuals from the villagers and were later acquired by GPCL within a year at extremely high prices, thus enabling those individuals in making huge profits. Compensation awarded for the land parcels was in some instances 200 times higher than the price it was bought from the original landowner. The petitioners alleged foul play between GPCL and the individuals who had purchased lands from the original landowners. The High Court ordered an investigation into the petitioners' allegation. Based on the findings of the investigation, the High Court concluded in 2012 that the compensation awarded by GPCL was based on established rules and procedures and the higher price accounts for the premium given to the landowners for their consent. The court also observed that there was no proof of any coercion or fraud in sales by the original landlord, and the case was dismissed on these grounds.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for compensation
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Demand for employment
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Non-Forest (Grazing Land)
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
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
5365
Type of investment:
Investment Made
Year of Estimation
2018
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
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.
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
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:
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Violation of free prior informed consent
Non-implementation/violation of LARR Act
Delay in compensation
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Yes
Name of the adjudicatory body
High Court of Gujarat
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Gujarat
Case Number
Writ Petition No. 234 of 2012
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
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:
Smt. Mamta Verma (Chairperson of Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd) Supreet Singh Gulati (Collector of Patan)
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Gujarat Power Corporation Limited
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Laljibhai Desai (National Head of the Congress Sevadal)
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?
Rejitha is a freelance consultant and Master Trainer for Paralegals. She is presently writing her doctoral thesis at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. Before starting out on her own, she worked for over six years as an Assistant Professor, teaching Human Rights and Legal Theory at Nirma University, Ahmedabad. A firm believer in education for justice, she devotes most of her time in developing courses and training modules to better understand social power and power structures.
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