Protect Suzlon's assets, court tells police

The Sangli Civil Court has issued an order to the police officers at Sangli asking them to provide police protection to save the Suzlon Energy company's machinery, sub-stations, vehicles, employees and windmills.

The company approached the court for protection and submitted reports published in a local newspaper as evidence indicating severity of the crisis created by farmers' agitation.

Suzlon Energy, the company, which has purchased lands in rural areas of the Sangli district in southern Maharashtra for its windmill project is facing a crisis due to farmers' agitation and halting of running windmills on the pretext that their full payment of compensation is not made by the company.

Farmers in six villages Ghatnandre, Wagholi, Kundalapur, Shelkewadi, Tisangi and Garjewadi have complained that the Suzlon Energy's officials have paid them some meagre amount with assurance that the remaining amount will be paid in due course.

A farmer of Ghatnandre, Sadashiv Chavan says that his land cost was fixed at Rs 11 lakh but the company officials paid only Rs 3 lakh and remaining amount is not paid. Similar complaints are made by other farmers who have approached the tahsildar in the area and submitted to him their complaints in writing.

Revenue authorities tried to bring together both the aggrieved farmers and the company officials and discuss the issue. But the company officials did not attend the meeting.

The absence of the officials and the alleged delay in payment seems to have irritated farmers who have launched agitation by halting running windmills and picketing in front of the company's centres in the area.

Home minister R R Patil stated at Sangli on Monday that the government is trying to sort out the crises created by the dispute between the company and the aggrieved farmers, who have complained that they are deceived by middlemen who have not paid the remaining due amount to the aggrieved farmers whose lands have been purchased by the company.