1 lakh acres of land will be reserved for the sweet industry 1 lakh acres of land will be reserved for the sweet industry

The state revenue department has implemented a new policy-2023 on leasing government waste land for green hydrogen production using non-conventional energy sources like solar, wind, wind-solar hybrid energy in the state including Kutch.

As per revenue department circular dated 8-5-23, lease term of government land for setting up solar, wind, wind-solar hybrid energy plant for green hydrogen production will be for 40 years. Land should be reserved for the current and future needs of the state government agencies for production of green hydrogen.

In addition, 1 lakh acres of land will have to be reserved for the expansion of existing salt base chemical industry in Kutch. If the allotted land is used for any purpose other than solar, wind, wind-solar hybrid energy plant, the land has to be returned. No more land will be allotted than the land required for the production of 30 lakh metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

There is a need to set up a large number of green energy projects to meet the power demand, and approximately 1 lakh hectares of government waste land will have to be allocated to state government companies for development of non-conventional energy sources. Applicants from Gujarat based petrochemical, steel, metal, chemical, fertiliser, power etc manufacturers whose annual requirement of green hydrogen is 1 lakh metric ton or more will be given preference.

15 thousand per hectare of land per annum
15,000 per hectare as annual land rent and additional taxes from the date of possession of the land, the applicant has to deposit with the government. There will be a 15 percent increase in rent every 3 years from the date of resolution. Annual ground rent, applicable extra taxes are to be deposited in advance. After a period of 90 days from the due date, simple interest shall be charged at the rate of 12 per cent. If the applicant fails to deposit the rent including interest within 24 months, the allocated lease will be transferred to the government.

Tripartite agreement between applicant, collector, agency
At the time of handing over the possession of the land, a tripartite agreement has to be entered into between the applicant, the collector and the nodal agency and at that time the applicant has to deposit an amount equal to 1 year’s rent of the land and pay 1 percent service charge and stamp duty. The applicant cannot sub-let the land to others.

The plant has to be developed within 8 years of getting the land
In order to speed up the production of green hydrogen, the development of the associated renewable energy plant will have to be done within 8 years of acquiring the land, development of land and other infrastructure in the first 2 years, 50 percent power capacity in the next 3 years, green hydrogen production capacity and 100 percent power in the remaining 3 years. Capacity and Green
Hydrogen production has to be started. For this the applicant has to give a written undertaking to the nodal agency.