Hiranandani Group faces agitation form farmers for power project in Pune

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pune, Maharashtra, India, Republic of (Free-Press-Release.com) May 25, 2011 -- The Hiranandani Group, seeking to implement its proposed Power Project at Talegaon in Pune, met a huge roadblock when the residents of the entire region of village Navlakh Umbre and Maval Taluka, where the project is planned, en masse rose up in protest against the project.

In a meeting organized at the historic Ram Mandir near the proposed project site, Darshan Hiranandani, Director of M/s Hindustan Electricity Generation Ltd., was all at sea trying to respond to the questions posed by the villagers, who were almost two thousand in number. The meeting was convened at the request of the Hiranandani Group after their recent plans to commence work at the site was thwarted by the villagers who have been opposing the project for the last two months.

The villagers, buoyed by the presence of Mr. Justice P.B. Sawant, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Mr. Justice Kolse Patil, former Judge of the Bombay High Court, raised pertinent queries relating to various contradictory claims of the company including the pollution that would be caused from the power project and its effect on their lives. Dr. Budhajirao Mulik, an expert agricultural consultant, who was specially brought by Hiranandani for the purpose, found it hard to satisfy the specific queries raised by the villagers and at one point had to admit that the claim of the project being pollution-free was not correct.

To a specific query as to why they had opted to locate their power plant on agricultural land instead of the nearby MIDC area which is adjacent to the village, Hiranandani had to admit that they had not approached the MIDC for setting up its plant. Similarly, he fumbled for an answer when one of the villagers asked him as to why the villagers were misled into selling their lands by falsely projecting that the land was being secured for a row-house cum residential scheme , and thereafter a power project was being planned on the same land against their wishes.

One of the residents of the village questioned the company’s wisdom in leaving only 5 acres of green belt, as claimed in its EIA Report, though the Ministry of Environment guidelines prescribe that 1/3rd of the plant area should be reserved for green land. Specific references were made to the various false and contradictory claims made by the company in their EIA report. On more than one occasion, the entire village shouted in unison that they do not want to the project to come up on their lands.

Hiranandani, who had come with his entourage of staff and security as also environment experts, made a powerpoint presentation trying to explain that the project was free from pollution. However, the specific queries put forward by the villagers completely stumped his team who had no answers for their pointed questions.

The powerful presence of Justice Sawant and Justice Patil, who have championed many similar causes against industrial houses and foreign multinationals, gave a huge fillip to the angry villagers, who have been fighting a battle for the last two months to save their village from the possible dangers of the power project.

The meeting concluded with Justice Sawant instructing the company that the villagers would make written representations citing all their objections to the company who would have to satisfy these objections prior to commencing work on their project. Looking at the sensitivity of the villagers over the issue, the District Administration had made special security arrangements with heavy deployment of armed police personnel.


Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Hiranandani-Group-faces-agitation-form-farmers-for-pwer-project-in-Pune/4833071089

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