Union Minister urges CM to clear hurdles for power line

Addressing reporters after his meeting with Yeddyurappa in the City on Thursday, Venugopal said that the project, which is being implemented by the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), faces a major hurdle in Virajpet in Kodagu district, where the landowners have refused to allow the line being drawn through their land.

“There is a problem on this 55-km stretch, and I have appealed to the Chief Minister to find an immediate solution to this problem and help expedite the project. This line is vital for all the Southern states, but the people of the area have continued their protests against it,” he said.

PGCIL officials said that works on the inter-state transmission line had been completed for about 155 km, out of the 210-km stretch. Under the project, which was initiated in 2005, sub stations have come up in Mysore and Kozhikode.

However, PGCIL is yet to receive permission to set up towers on a 5-km stretch of the reserve forest area covering parts of Periyapatna, Kushalnagar and Maldare Reserve Forests in South Kodagu, while coffee growers and paddy cultivators have refused to part with their land on the remaining 50-km stretch.

The Chief Minister has sought the project details from officials of the forest and energy departments and has also held discussions in this regard with Assembly Speaker and MLA K G Bopaiah, who is from Virajpet.