The Hindu : Front Page : Site for substation comes at a price

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Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
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Site for substation comes at a price

Swathi. V

APCPDCL will pay nearly Rs. 6 crore for setting up two new substations

HYDERABAD: After facing non-availability of space in the city and the no-charity attitude of public and private entities, the power distribution authorities seem to have realised that everything in the world comes with a price tag. The APCPDCL has decided to go for commercial acquisition of sites for substations by paying market rates.

In view of escalating real estate prices and land scarcity, the government departments consider it unwise to part with even a few square yards of land for construction of substations. For instance, requests for allocation of land for substations near Lower Tankbund and Basheerbagh initially met with a cold shoulder from the Tourism Department.

Subsequently, the department is reported to have demanded payment of market rate -- Rs. 45,000 per square yard -- for the site. After much deliberation, a green signal for commercial acquisition of land was given which means, APCPDCL will pay nearly Rs. 6 crore to acquire site for two new substations.

“Considering the revenue Metro Zone earns, which exceeds Rs.1.7 crore per month, we hope land acquisition will not be beyond our means,” says a top official. He also assures that commercial acquisition will not be the norm for every substation. However, there are fears that once the process is started, the same demand would be made by other property owners, too.

Exchange proposal

Some departments have come up with interesting demands like the A.P Vaidya Vidhan Parishad which wanted to exchange substation land for a new building!

The agency has agreed to hand over its 350-square-yard site in Panjesha in exchange for erection of a new two-storied building of 2,500 square feet.

Of the 13 sites identified in the city for construction of substations, only three have been hassle-free so far with the rest either caught in a legal tangle or the property owners being simply not interested in giving their sites. In some cases, there have been objections from local people.

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