Special panel formed to speed up land acquisition.

Even as it probes allegations of corruption in irrigation projects during the Congress-NCP regime, the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has an equally big issue to take care of. Several dam projects are on hold due to confusion over the compensation package offered against acquisition of land.

'There is a big difference between the compensation provided under the centre's new Land Acquisition Bill or the state’s previous model and the market price. This has caught the farmers in a bind,' said a senior state official.

The delay in land acquisition has affected many projects, throwing deadlines out of gear.

The worst affected are dam projects in the Vidarbha belt where the backlog of irrigation work is already high.

A performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) earlier had revealed a cost escalation of over Rs. 47,000 crore in 601 ongoing irrigation projects.

A senior official said the cost escalation scenario was expected to worsen further if the land acquisition puzzle was not solved soon.

Expressing concern over the state of affairs, Fadnavis Wednesday appointed a special panel comprising senior bureaucrats to evolve a uniform policy for acquiring land for irrigation and infrastructure projects. Additional Chief Secretary (Planning) KP Baxi will head the panel, which has been asked to submit its report within a month.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS