Rajasthan High Court Dismisses Petition Against Land Allotment For 450 MW Project

The Rajasthan high court in a recent judgement has dismissed a petition that sought to challenge land allotment by the Government over a solar project. The PIL threatened grave environmental issues if solar projects were to be commissioned in Western Rajasthan.

In a landmark judgement, the Justice not only dismissed the petition but also penalised the petitioners, Jal Grahan Vikas Sanstha  for wasting judicial time by bringing such a matter to court.

The land in question was allotted by The Solar Energy Corporation of India to SBE Renewables Ten Projects, an entity of SB Energy Holdings Limited (SBEHL), which is now a part of Adani Green Energy Limited. The land was allotted for the establishment of Inter State Transmission System Connected Wind Solar Hybrid Power Projects of 450 MW under SECI’s Tranche 1 solar auctions of 2018-19.

The Implications Of The Petition

The petition had claimed that the land allotment was unfair on several counts, one being that the construction of the project on the land would impact the land conservation negatively and also prove detrimental to the collection of rainwater. Another contention put up by the petitioner was that the land allotted falls under the prohibited category and not open to allotment.

The State Government refuted these claims by pointing out that the land in question is Government-owned and does not fall under prohibited category, such as Oran (the story of which will unfold as you read on). All the other claims were quashed.

As far as the claims of obstructing the environment in the petition are concerned, that the area is sparse with respect to biodiversity. In consultation with respective authorities, it was said that no endangered animal or specie had made the land its home.

Hence, the petition was put to rest, allowing the project to proceed finally.

Coming at a time when massive solar capacities remain stuck on precisely the same issues in Rajasthan involving the Great Indian Bustard habitat, among other things, it does indicate that the flow is not one way against the developers, legally.

Land- The Biggest Roadblock In Setting Up Solar Projects

Countrywide, the acquisition of land for the establishment of solar parks has been a common challenge.

To begin with, the legal framework for land acquisition for a solar project is anything but easy. There are legalities to be considered on various fronts, such as, legal title, wildlife, environment, land allotment by government. The land is governed by various issues of environment, wildlife, legal title, ceiling limit, the assets of PACL as monitored by SEBI. The list goes on.

Private players in the solar development sector often claim running into conflicts with government agencies, landowners as well as local authorities. Such conflicts lead to disruption of the projects, often stalling them in the process.

The absence of digitalization and technology when it comes to maintaining land records is another one of the major challenges.

Even though the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Program was introduced in 2008, to facilitate and put in place a record management system, the program is enmeshed in its own set of challenges. Besides, one wonders aloud about the success of this Program in rural areas (where land conflicts with respect to solar projects is an everyday issue) since there is limited access to the internet. Marginalised communities as well as poorer farmers may not benefit from this scheme at the end of the day. It may also be noted that the scheme was extended to 2023-24 from the initial 2020-21.

While the digitization of land records is plagued by challenges and may take significant time to achieve success, especially with respect to state variations, the land record system in rural areas continued to be a vexing issue. There is conflict over the belongingness of lands to villages, thereby sparking discords. Village boundaries are continuously redrawn, further adding to this problem.

For the policymakers, there are other gaps to be plugged. For instance, they are under considerable pressures to meet targets towards decarbonization, ensure the rehabilitation of those displaced because of the projects. The displaced, or poor land owners, on the other hand, have to look out for themselves by making sure they are awarded a fair compensation for land sold off and then at times, look for alternative lands for sustenance.

Rajasthan- At The Heart Of Land Conflicts For Solar Projects

Over the years, Rajasthan has been at the heart of land conflicts over solar parks. The issue has become more pronounced ever since the state saw the tussle over the GIB habitat tangle up projects worth close to Rs 40,000 crores by some estimates. That said, the legal framework of the state for solar power is complicated.

Even though the state has paved the path for ease of land allocation (both state and private) for RE projects- Solar Energy and Wind and Hybrid Energy 2019 being a significant step in the direction, legal conflicts between the State and people have been piling up as have been the solar projects that are unable to reach completion. An important case in point is the duels that take place between them at Degrai Oran.

The area, which boasts of an impressive biodiversity, has become a centre for windmills and solar plants. The landscape of Oran is dominated by sacred groves, which are worshipped by the rural communities here. Residents here are up in arms against project developers since they are of the view that the sacred groves are greatly harmed to make way for these projects.

A Whole New Pandora’s Box

The above has opened another Pandora’s Box altogether, which is, that trees are felled here for projects because in the revenue records, the lands are not accurately identified or earmarked. This, naturally points to the absence of a system which facilitates earmarking of areas for ownership and record management.

Following in what seemed like a never-ending tussle between a solar power company, residential communities and the state authority, the Supreme Court finally declared Oran as deemed forests. The tussle continues till date, where the residents claim and are disgruntled by the fact that power companies are still springing up in the area. Biologists. on the other hand, have expressed vehement opposition to RE projects saying that they pose a grave threat to the Great Indian Bustard, already on the verge of extinction. The deaths of the species are constantly on the rise. This aggravated the expenses of the power company while also delaying their timelines.

In 2019, wildlife conservationist MK Ranjitsinh came forward to file a petition in the Supreme Court, urging power project developers to opt for underground transmission. The PIL saw the light of the day and won in the court of law. Developers were naturally unhappy, as the added costs would throw project economics out of the window, with the prospects of long battles with state agencies to accept additional costs as a force majeure or change in law condition.

Last year, another petition was filed in unison by environmentalists. The PIL stated that the underground cabling that was necessitated in Rajasthan by the apex court are being flouted.

The Tug Of War Continues

In another development to the never-ending tussle between solar projects, the State, environmentalists and environmentalists, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy intervened through an interlocutory application citing that underground transmission would drive up the projects costs and make RE projects unsustainable.

Such disputes that refuse to cool down have impinged greatly on the RE potential that Oran offers. The application by the MNRE in 2021 says that “a miniscule 3 per cent of the estimated potential of around 263 GW of renewable energy in this area has been tapped.”

Furthermore, underground transmission will bring their own issues, such as laying them through privately held lands. Safety issues on the underground transmission is another area that needs to be tread carefully.