Lending primary Vijaya Bank has pink-flagged the way wherein the state authorities acquired land for its flagship sun park project, hailed as one of the biggest inside the world, developing at Pavagada, approximately 150 km from Bengaluru. The Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Ltd (KSPDCL) constructing the solar park has taken agricultural lands on hire for the project. But these are lands farmers had already mortgaged as safety for loans, Vijaya Bank has charged. The solar park is on 12,800 acres spread across five villages in Pavagada — Balasamudram, Tirumane, Kyataganacharlu, Vallur, and Rayacharlu.
The dispute raised now pertains to lands in Tirumane and Vallur, where Vijaya Bank is the handiest fundamental financial institution. “Though valid loan exists, the enterprise has taken those lands on the lease without taking any no-objection certificates from our financial institution,” Vijaya Bank widespread supervisor C Sathish Ballal said in a letter to the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), a platform for discussion between the banks and the state authorities. DH has a copy of the letter. These are lands mortgaged through 874 farmers having crop loans really worth Rs 16. Fifty-two crore and 11 farmers with agriculture time period loans of Rs 44 lakh on the Pavagada department of Vijaya Bank. “After these lands being taken on lease by way of the agency for non-agriculture use, there may be no cultivation of plants on these lands, and for this reason, the bank is not able to review/renew this money owed ensuing in large addition of debts to non-acting property (NPA),” Ballal said. The land has been leased for 28-30 years. Farmers get an annual hire of Rs 21,000 with a five% boom each year — a land pooling version the authorities are thinking about emulating for a number of its different important initiatives to avoid the cumbersome acquisition technique. Vijaya Bank has additionally objected to KSPDCL paying hire to the farmers without delay. “This has enabled the farmers to encash the DDs/cheques without clearing their dues notable in our bank.” While entitled to their hire rent, farmers could also be that they stopped paying or renewing their loan bills in anticipation of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s crop mortgage waiver. Vijaya Bank wants KSPDCL to get farmers to clean their dues and ship the subsequent installment of the lease hire to the farmers’ loan debts. The problem got here for dialogue on February 25, where SLBC decided to advocate the government to make sure the farmers’ liability is cleared, SLBC convenor C B Narasimha Rao stated. For its element, KSPDCL stated hire agreements with farmers had been based totally on the task that their lands have been freed from any encumbrance. “Initially, we did get such proceedings, and we requested those farmers to clear the dues first. The bank ought to deliver this to our be aware for us to behave,” KSPDCL chief executive officer G Bhimsha said, adding that maximum rent agreements have been inked in 2017 itself. “And we aren’t buying land for us to acquire NOC from the financial institution.” KSPDCL is a joint challenge among the Solar Energy Corporation of India and Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. With an investment of Rs sixteen,500 crores, the solar park is expected to generate 2,000 MW of power. “As on these days, we’ve commissioned 950 MW,” Bhimsha said.
