Villagers protest installation of power transmission lines
Our Correspondent
Palampur, March 4
Insaf, an NGO, today demanded legal action against two power companies installing transmission lines between Palampur and Hamirpur.
The NGO alleged that one of the companies had illegally acquired acres of private land without the consent of the owners and installing transmission lines by damaging their standing crops. Villagers under the banner of Insaf today lodged their protest and submitted a memorandum to SDM, Palampur, Dharmesh Manotra.
Parveen Sharma, a senior BJP leader, said officials of the company had encroached upon private land and axed trees using heavy equipment such as earth movers and JCB machines without their consent. He said the company also threatened the villagers of dire consequences.
Sharma urged the SDM to initiate action against the company and seek response as to why land was not legally acquired before the installation of transmission lines and why valuable green species were axed.
The HPSEBL had hired a private company for the installation of transmission lines between Palampur and Hamirpur. Before the installation process, the company had not acquired any land. Villagers were on the warpath for the past eight months. They approached the Panchrukhi police, the SDM, Palampur, and the local MLA time and again, but to no avail.
A spokesperson for the company also admitted that no land had been acquired for the project, but the DC, Kangra, in writing allowed the company to execute the project in private land, therefore there was no need for land acquisition. They also produced the copy of the DC order. Villagers, however, termed the letter of the DC illegal and arbitrary.
