SHIMLA, Jan 8: Work on the 70-mw Dhamwari-Sunda hydel project near Chirgaon in Shimla district has run into rough weather, following protest by owners whose lands are being acquired by the Bhamwari Power Corporation.The company, whose top executives are in town, had announced yesterday that the project had received final clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and that the execution work was likely to receive a boost in the coming months. The company had also mobilised finances for accelerating the pace of work.The villagers are up in arms over the company's move to incorporate such clauses in the agreement for transfer of land, which debar the co-sharer and other legitimate claimants from receiving any compensation for the land.The villagers have already met the Shimla Deputy Commissioner and have submitted their representations demanding modification in the agreement.The agreement for the execution of the project was signed in August 1993 with M/s Hazra Engineering Company (USA), which later formed a new company for the execution work. Though the company was given one year to prepare its techno-economic report and complete other formalities, this period was later extended by the government.A villager told The Indian Express, ``We first want the price of the land to be finalised by the government, and other clauses, debarring the co-sharers from staking their separate claims for compensations to be scrapped from the agreement papers''.The company officials, however, maintain that private landholders would not be forced to sign affidavits unless they consent to the agreement.
