The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised questions over the allotment of land to six solar companies for setting up solar thermal power plants (ST) in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer districts.
The land was allotted to these companies for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and migration scheme but these companies used the allotted land for developing their land bank.
The CAG report has recently been tabled in the Lok Sabha. According to the report, the Rajasthan state policy gave preferential treatment in the allotment of land to these developers as this land was allocated for public purpose. The preferential treatment included allocating government land at rates lower than the DLC rates and changing the land use status, the report mentioned.
The developers which have been flagged are Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy Pvt Ltd, M/s Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd, M/s Diwakar Solar Projects Pvt Ltd, M/s KVK Energy Ventures Pvt Ltd, M/s Entegra Ltd and M/s Dalmia Solar Power Ltd.
The records revealed that in Rajasthan, a total of 3,404 acres of government land was leased to solar power developers at the rate of 10% of the prevailing DLC rate in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. The report further said the land had been leased by the Rajasthan government for 30 years to these developers and ST projects had not been commissioned till February 2015. The report said that this indicated that these developers had created substantial land banks under the Rajasthan government policy, which had not been put to intended use.
{{/usCountry}}The records revealed that in Rajasthan, a total of 3,404 acres of government land was leased to solar power developers at the rate of 10% of the prevailing DLC rate in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. The report further said the land had been leased by the Rajasthan government for 30 years to these developers and ST projects had not been commissioned till February 2015. The report said that this indicated that these developers had created substantial land banks under the Rajasthan government policy, which had not been put to intended use.
{{/usCountry}}The CAG also observed that in a demonstration programme in 2008, the state leased 375 acres of land to M/s Par Solar for five MW SPV plants, which were commissioned in March 2012. For the commissioning of one MW SPV project, approximately six acres of land was required.
CAG findings
According to CAG report which was recently tabled in the Lok Sabha, the allotted land was meant for public purpose.
The preferential treatment included allocating government land at rates lower than the DLC rates and changing the land use status, the report mentioned.