Land acquisition on for power corridor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With consensus finally perching on the much delayed land acquisition for Koodankulam-Madakkathara 440 kv power corridor, stage is set for the state to expand its power transmission capacity by 600 mw a year.
Following the ultimatum given by the Power Grid Corporation of India that the corporation would wind up the corridor construction work if government does not complete the land acquisition before December 31, 2014, the land acquisition disputes have almost been settled by offering higher price to agitating land lords in the Edamon-Kochi stretch of around 150 km.
The construction of 440 kv line came to a halt a few years ago after land owners, especially rubber planters along the Nedumom-Kochi stretch came out with protests against the overhead lines and land acquisition. According to the agreement reached among the stake holders in a meeting chaired by chief minitster Oommen Chandy a couple of weeks ago, the land owners would be given price five times higher than the market rate of the land.
“The PGCL has agreed to stick on to the work and if things fall in place as expected, the transmission lines from Koodankulam to Madakkathara will be completed in a year. Once the line is through, the state would not only able to bring its due share of power from Koodankulam, but also would be in a position to bring more power from outside the state to meet power shortage’’, said power secretary and KSEB chairman and managing director M Sivasankar.
At present, KSEB brings its share of 133 mw power from Koodankulam atomic plant through Udumalpett to Madakkathara substation in Thrissur district.