New Delhi, January 18:The Supreme Court Monday adjourned the hearing on a lawsuit of Reliance Power challenging the Allahabad High Court’s verdict partially scrapping the acquisition of farm land for the Rs.25,000-crore Dadri power plant.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan adjourned the hearing to Jan 29 after advocate M.L. Sharma submitted to the court that he has filed a special lawsuit on behalf of the farmers, seeking opportunity to have his say before the court begins the hearing.
Acceding to Sharma’s plea, the bench, which also included Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice Deepak Verma, adjourned the hearing to Jan 29.
Former Additional Solicitor General Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Reliance Power, sought issuance of notice on his client’s lawsuit, contending that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is behind the farmers, opposing the land acquisition.
He said Reliance Industries was not only denying the rightful share of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin to Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, another Anil Ambani firm, but also blocking acquisition of land.
Rohtagi said that “these so-called poor farmers” had chartered private planes on 30 occasions to ferry a senior counsel to argue their case at the Allahabad High Court.
Reliance Power has said 2,200 acres of land was acquired in 2004 and nearly 90 percent of the land owners had signed consent agreements and accepted the compensation based on prevailing market rates.
Formerly known as Reliance Energy Generation, the company in its lawsuit said the high court wrongly exercised its discretionary powers while not taking into account a delay of four years by farmers in challenging the acquisition by the Uttar Pradesh government
“The public purpose and importance of the acquisition is established from the fact that the state government itself pursuant to the power policy contributed a major amount of Rs.94.71 crore out of the total compensation of Rs.157.85 crore,” the lawsuit added.
After taking over the possession, Reliance Power had received several statutory and regulatory approvals both from the state and central governments signifying support to the project, it pointed out.
——————IANS