Anantapur farmers protest over solar hub land compensation

Hundreds of farmers in Nambulapoolakunta, Anantapur district, are protesting the denial of compensation after their land was taken over for a solar hub, whose construction was handed to NTPC. Ten thousand acres were acquired. Ministers and revenue officials had assured Rs 2.10 lakh per acre, employment, some land and goats and sheep in gram sabhas. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat visited NP Kunta and demanded at least Rs 10 lakh per acre and implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

Written by AI from Anantapur — politics · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 29 Sept 2026, 1:34 am IST

Source

Anantapur — politics · read the original report ↗

#land acquisition#solar power#farmers protest#cpim#anantapur

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Ten thousand acres at Nambulapoolakunta were taken over for a solar hub built by NTPC — Figure and agency appear in source; no government document cited.
Ministers and revenue officials promised Rs 2.10 lakh per acre, jobs, land, and goats/sheep in gram sabhas — Attributed to assurances in gram sabhas; source later cites Rs 2 lakh per acre, an internal inconsistency.
Prakash Karat demanded at least Rs 10 lakh per acre and implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 — Directly quoted and attributed to Karat in the source.
The state government proposes to acquire 15 lakh acres for industries and airports; process described as 'land-grabbing' — Allegation attributed to Karat; no official confirmation in source.
Section 144 was imposed within a 500-metre radius of the project site and 22 CPI(M) district leaders were issued bind-over summons — Stated as fact in source without naming the issuing authority.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Economic Analyst

However large the economic case for renewable capacity, a project whose land-acquisition bill is unsettled ends up costing more — that is the core of the Nambulapoolakunta dispute. At Rs 2.10 lakh an acre across ten thousand acres, the acquisition cost is relatively modest; moving towards the Rs 10 lakh an acre the CPI(M) demands would materially change the project's land economics. As the story stands, hundreds of farmers have not received even the promised amount, which means displaced households are currently absorbing that cost.

The package — Rs 2.10 lakh an acre plus construction jobs, some land and goats or sheep — is cash-light and leans on livelihood promises that the story says have not materialised.
Compensation tied to patta titles penalises those who cultivated assigned or government land for decades: the income loss is real even where the paper title is not.
The demand to apply the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 is essentially an economic one — higher compensation and a formal R&R package raise upfront cost but reduce litigation and delay risk.
Allegations of corruption in compensation allotment, unproven in this story, would if true mean public money leaking away from intended beneficiaries — the costliest outcome of all.
Against the backdrop of a proposal to acquire 15 lakh acres statewide, NP Kunta becomes a benchmark: whatever rate settles here will shape land-cost assumptions for future projects.

What to watch — Watch whether the state revises the per-acre rate, extends a 2013-Act R&R package, and orders an audit of disbursement — those three choices will set both the project's cost and its timeline.

The story does not carry the government's or NTPC's response, the amount disbursed so far, the project's investment value or job estimates, and the corruption claims remain allegations.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 7 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Andhra Pradesh government decided to set up a solar hub at Nambulapoolakunta (NP Kunta) mandal in Anantapur district, handing construction responsibility to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). Ten thousand acres were taken over, but hundreds of farmers — many of whom had cultivated assigned or government land for decades — say the promised compensation never reached them. Ministers and revenue officials had assured Rs 2.10 lakh per acre, jobs in construction, some land and goats and sheep for rearing in gram sabhas. The CPI(M) has run dharnas for three months, and Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat visited the site demanding at least Rs 10 lakh per acre and full implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

Key facts

Ten thousand acres have been taken over at Nambulapoolakunta, Anantapur district, for the solar project.
State ministers and revenue officials assured in gram sabhas a compensation of Rs 2.10 lakh per acre, employment in construction works, some land, and goats and sheep for rearing.
The compensation did not materialise for hundreds of farmers, many cultivating assigned or government land for decades; corruption in allotment deprived some patta holders too.
Construction of the solar hub was handed over to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) by the AP government.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat demanded at least Rs 10 lakh per acre — four times the amount currently fixed — and full implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
CPI(M) organised dharnas and agitations over the last three months.
District authorities clamped Section 144 CrPC within a 500-metre radius of the project site and initially refused permission for Karat's visit and public meeting; permission came at the last hour.
Police issued bind over summons to 22 CPI(M) district leaders who had taken part in an earlier protest at Nambulapoolakunta mandal.

Timeline

Not dated in the sourceAP government decides to establish a solar hub at Nambulapoolakunta; construction handed to NTPC; 10,000 acres taken over.
Not dated in the sourceMinisters and revenue officials assure farmers in gram sabhas of Rs 2.10 lakh per acre, jobs, some land, and goats and sheep.
Last three monthsCPI(M) organises dharnas and agitations over denial of compensation.
Earlier (before Karat's visit)Police protest at Nambulapoolakunta mandal leads to pitched battles; bind over summons issued to 22 CPI(M) district leaders.
Before the visitDistrict authorities refuse permission for the visit and public meeting; Section 144 CrPC clamped within 500 m of project site.
Day of visitPermission granted at the last hour; police barricades removed by crowds; Karat addresses public meeting at NP Kunta mandal headquarters.
Same visitKarat meets bereaved families of farmers who died by suicide at the party office in Kurnool and addresses farmers at Sakunala village.

Who has a stake

Farmers of Nambulapoolakunta mandal — Loss of 10,000 acres of cultivated land, including assigned/government land tilled for decades, without the promised compensation, jobs or livestock.
Patta holders — Some deprived of compensation due to alleged corruption in allotment and manipulation of records favouring fake beneficiaries.
Government of Andhra Pradesh / Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu — Faces allegations of land grabbing, non-implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and of an R&R package, and of acquiring land for private companies.
NTPC — Entrusted with construction of the solar hub; project progress tied to unresolved land compensation disputes.
CPI(M) (Prakash Karat, Vangala Subba Rao, Y Venkateswarlu) — Leading the agitation; has decided to take the issue to the national level to secure justice for displaced farmers.
District administration and police — Enforced Section 144, barricades and bind over summons; accused of curbing democratic protest at the government's behest.
Farmers of Orvakal area, Kurnool district — Resisting acquisition of their lands for solar power plants and other industrial units.

Why it matters

India's renewable energy build-out needs vast tracts of land, and how that land is taken — and whether displaced cultivators, including those on assigned or government land, are compensated and rehabilitated — decides whether clean energy becomes a source of social conflict. The dispute also tests whether the Land Acquisition Act, 2013's relief and rehabilitation guarantees are honoured when states acquire land for projects executed by public and private companies. With a proposal to acquire 15 lakh acres across Andhra Pradesh for industries, airports and solar plants, the NP Kunta case sets a precedent for lakhs of small and marginal farmers.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Nambulapoolakunta (NP Kunta) mandal is in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh; solar hub construction entrusted to NTPC.
Compensation assured in gram sabhas: Rs 2.10 lakh per acre; CPI(M) demand: at least Rs 10 lakh per acre.
Land taken over for the solar project: 10,000 acres; proposed statewide acquisition cited: 15 lakh acres.
Section 144 CrPC was clamped within a 500-metre radius of the project site to bar public gatherings.
Prakash Karat is a Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M); AP state leaders named: Vangala Subba Rao and Y Venkateswarlu.
Per the source, the Airports Authority of India does not permit airports within 100 km of each other.

Mains framing

The NP Kunta solar hub dispute illustrates the gap between the procedural and compensatory guarantees of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and their actual delivery on the ground. Land was taken over for a 10,000-acre solar project executed by NTPC on the strength of gram sabha assurances of Rs 2.10 lakh per acre plus jobs, land and livestock, but hundreds of cultivators — many tilling assigned or government land for decades and therefore with weak documentary title — received nothing, while alleged corruption and record manipulation diverted entitlements to what the CPI(M) calls bogus beneficiaries. The implications are threefold: the legitimacy of India's renewable energy transition is undermined when it displaces the rural poor; the use of coercive measures such as Section 144 within 500 metres of the site and bind over summons against 22 protest leaders shifts a livelihood dispute into a law-and-order frame; and a proposal to acquire 15 lakh acres statewide for industries, airports and solar plants raises the question of the state acquiring land on behalf of private companies. The way forward, as argued in the source, lies in implementing the 2013 Act in letter and spirit with a full relief and rehabilitation package before project work proceeds, a transparent and independently probed beneficiary verification to weed out fake claimants, recognition of long-standing cultivators of assigned land, and a compensation figure the affected community accepts.

Key terms

Land Acquisition Act, 2013: The central law governing acquisition, compensation and relief and rehabilitation (R&R); CPI(M) demands its implementation 'in letter and spirit' at NP Kunta.
R&R package: Relief and rehabilitation entitlements due to those who lose land; Karat argues the project cannot proceed without fully implementing it.
Assigned land: Government land assigned to or cultivated by poor farmers, often for decades, whose occupants here say they were denied compensation.
Patta holder: A person holding a formal land title document; some were deprived of compensation due to alleged corruption in allotment.
NTPC: National Thermal Power Corporation, the public power utility handed responsibility for constructing the Nambulapoolakunta solar hub.
Section 144 CrPC / bind over summons: Prohibitory order barring assembly (imposed within 500 m of the site) and police summons requiring persons to give an undertaking against repeating offences.

Practice questions

Large renewable energy projects require vast land. Examine, with reference to the Nambulapoolakunta solar hub, whether the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 adequately protects cultivators of assigned or government land.
Discuss the tensions between industrial and infrastructure-led land acquisition and the rights of small and marginal farmers in Andhra Pradesh, citing the demands raised in the NP Kunta agitation.
Critically assess the use of prohibitory orders such as Section 144 CrPC in areas of land acquisition protest. Does it resolve or aggravate agrarian discontent?

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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