Though farmers are yet to receive fair compensation for their agricultural lands and are left without a livelihood, Adani Power, a subsidiary of the Adani Group, has gained 1,020 acres in Pirpainti in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district for just Rs 1 per acre per year on a 25-year lease, amid growing fears of severe air pollution from the proposed coal-based power plant in the area.
The land allocation comes at a time when villagers allege that many have not received full or uniform compensation for their agricultural plots, most of which contain orchards of mango and litchi, and they fear the loss of cultivation will deprive them of their primary means of income.
The issue is linked to the infamous Srijan scam, in which government funds intended for landowners were siphoned off by an NGO in collusion with officials, leaving farmers waiting for disbursements nearly a decade later, according to The Wire.
While the state government has labelled many of these lands as barren, residents insist that they are prime agricultural tracts with climate-resilient fruit crops that provide steady and sustainable livelihoods.
The Prime Minister inaugurated a series of projects worth Rs 40,000 crore in Bihar earlier this month, which included the Rs 25,000-crore, 2,400-megawatt thermal power plant at Pirpainti. Promoted as Bihar’s largest private sector investment, the plant is described as using ultra-supercritical technology, but villagers note that they face livelihood displacement while the company stands to gain massive benefits at negligible land costs.
Two days before the Prime Minister’s visit, Adani Power signed a 25-year Power Supply Agreement with the Bihar State Power Generation Company, under which it will build, own and operate the facility, selling electricity to state utilities at a fixed rate.
The plant is projected to be completed in phases within five years, with investment estimated at USD 3 billion, but villagers claim their grievances have been ignored, as some of those attempting to raise concerns during the Prime Minister’s visit were detained.
With Bihar being flood-prone and dependent on cultivable land for livelihoods, residents of Pirpainti see the land loss as an irreversible blow, especially as their orchards were undervalued and acquired at outdated rates from 12 years ago.
The project has a long history of opposition since it was first proposed in 2014 as a 1,320-megawatt public sector plant under NHPC, with farmers rallying against irregularities in compensation and blocking construction activity at the site.
The project later shifted hands and purposes, briefly mooted as a solar initiative in 2021 before reverting to a coal-based plant, eventually landing with Adani Power as Bihar’s first and largest private thermal facility.