Resentment brews over GMR land compensation

The police have arrested 33 people and filed FIR against Rajya Sabha member of Parliament, Rudra Narayan Pany, in a case relating to the ransacking of the office of GMR Energy at Kamalanga in Dhenkanal district.

The irate villagers of Kamalanga and Mangalpur, who are among the affected persons of GMR's proposed 1800 Mw power plant in the area, had ransacked the company office on Monday protesting low compensation for land, lack of peripheral developmental work and denial of employment by the company.

Some computers and office articles were destroyed during the incident. The police had arrested 21 persons yesterday and picked up 12 more villagers today in connection with the attack on GMR office.

An FIR has been filed against Rajya Sabha MP, Pani on charges of inciting the villagers to create violence.

GMR, which signed MOU with the state government in June 2006 to set up a 1320 Mw power plant, later scaled up the proposed capacity to 1800 Mw.

The company aims to start generation by 2011. It has acquired all the land, including 800 acre of irrigated land, required for the plant.

However, the affected villagers complain that they have been given low rate on their land compared to the oustees of other power projects coming in the area like those of Lanco and Jindal India Power.

While GMR oustees got Rs 500,000 per acre, others have got more than Rs 700,000 per acre, they claimed. The tenants of the irrigated land are particularly sore over low rate of lands.