The Quint is telling the full story of how climate change is reshaping lives in India. Help us do more. Become a member.“The solar plant has surrounded my land from all sides, and there is no proper road to reach it. I cannot cultivate the land or even build a house there. How am I supposed to use my own land?” asked Shomil Singh Gaharwar, a farmer from Biharaya village, around 50 km from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.Gaharwar is fighting a land dispute linked to the 40 MW solar project commissioned in the village in 2018. Around 12 acres of his family’s ancestral land has been surrounded by land sold or leased for the project.The solar project was taken up in 2017 under a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) viability gap funding scheme for Uttar Pradesh and was commissioned in October 2018. Land for the project was brought together through purchases and agreements with local landowners.UP Mehrauni-I Urja Pvt Ltd’s 40 MW solar plant in Biharaya.India is rapidly expanding solar power as part of its target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based electricity capacity by 2030. Solar capacity reached 168.04 GW by August 2026, with the government targeting around 280 GW by 2030.As more large-scale solar projects come up, they require significant tracts of land and associated transmission infrastructure, bringing the clean-energy transition directly into rural communities.The Quint visited Biharaya and spoke to villagers about how the project has changed land use and livelihoods. For some families, selling land provided a large payment at a time when they needed money. Some villagers who were satisfied with the decision at the time now say they regret it. For others, the project has led to disputes over land boundaries, access, employment, grazing space and transmission lines.Chhari Dhandh: What Do We Lose When We Build Green Energy in the Wrong Places?Villagers Allege They Were Unaware of the Solar Project A November 2017 sale deed shows the sale of 6.458 acres of agricultural land in Biharaya to UP Mehrauni-I Urja Pvt Ltd. The deed specifically says the land was being purchased for setting up a 40 MW Solar Power Project under a SECI programme.For the project, UP Mehrauni-I Urja acquired or leased hundreds of acres of land in the area. UP Mehrauni-I Urja is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Onward Solar Power Pvt Ltd. The project has a power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI).But what was recorded in the sale deed differs from what some farmers say they were told at the time.Pappu Singh, whose wife is the village pradhan, was among the early land sellers. According to him, his extended family sold around 200 acres of land to the project in 2017. “We only knew that something would be built here. The land buyers did not tell us clearly that a solar project would be set up here,” he told The Quint.Pappu says his family needed money at the time, including for building a house and his daughter’s wedding. The money being offered was therefore important to them.He also says that if he had known a solar project would be set up there and electricity would be sold from the site, he would have negotiated for a higher price.The Quint spoke to dozens of farmers who sold their land for the project. Nearly all of them had a similar complaint: they said they were not told clearly at the time that their land was being acquired for a solar power project. Several farmers also alleged that local land brokers negotiated the deals and that their land was bought at prices significantly below its perceived market value.‘We Did Not Want to Sell Our Land’ While many families in Biharaya sold or leased their land for the solar project, Gaharwar was among those who did not sell or lease his share of the family land. For him, the main issue is access. His lawyer, advocate Ashish Mishra, said land around Gaharwar’s property has been taken for the project, leaving no proper route to reach it.“If you buy 100 acres and I have 10 acres in the middle, what will I do?” Mishra said, describing the situation.Shomil Singh Gaharwar stands on his land, surrounded by the solar plant in Biharaya village.Advocate Ashish Mishra“They took away his land from all sides. Now there is no proper road to go to his land. They are just trying to force him to sell the land.”Gaharwar’s main demand is that a proper road be provided from the main road to his land so that he can access and use his property. He says he does not want to give up his share of the land. The case has been pending in a civil court in Prayagraj for around one-and-a-half years.Gaharwar also has concerns about the measurement and division of the family land. Some members of his extended family have already leased their shares to the project. However, the family land has not yet been formally divided. He wants the land to be properly measured and demarcated and the individual shares of family members to be clearly identified before anyone gives up their portion.Shomil Singh Gaharwar“First, our land should be properly measured and clearly demarcated and our share separated and clarified. After that, whoever from the family wants to give their land can give it. We will not give ours.”A New Expansion, and Another Landowner’s Concern Another 20 MW solar project is now being developed in Biharaya by Onward Solar Power Pvt Ltd. This new project is being developed under the Open Access Scheme, under which the power generated can be supplied directly to third-party industrial or commercial consumers or sold through power exchanges. The project’s offtake details are currently listed as “NA”.Gaharwar’s land is already caught in the middle of the existing solar project. The proposed expansion has raised a similar concern for Abhishek Singh’s family. Around 2.5-3 acres of the family’s land lies near the proposed project, and Abhishek says he does not want to give up this land. He is also worried that if the surrounding plots are taken for the project, his family could eventually be left with little or no convenient access to it.He says his grandfather had spent years turning what was originally rocky land into agricultural land. For the family, he says, the land is therefore more than just a piece of property that can be exchanged for money.Some of Abhishek’s uncles have already agreed to lease their land for 27 years. Abhishek, however, wants a different arrangement. He wants land closer to the roadside in exchange for his agricultural land so that the family can continue farming. If that is not possible, he wants enough money to buy agricultural land elsewhere.'Don't Turn Our Green Belt Into...': Farmers Oppose 'AI City' Near BengaluruBinit Kumar Das, Renewable Energy Programme Manager at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), says the bargaining power is not always equal when large developers or agencies negotiate with individual farmers. In such cases, farmers may have less information and less room to negotiate over the price of the land, payment terms, and what the agreement could mean for them in the long run.As the solar project expands, villagers say the company has started taking land on lease for 27 years rather than purchasing it, as some farmers are unwilling to sell their land.The new agreements have raised another question among farmers: what happens when the lease period ends?Shomil Singh Gaharwar“They are taking the land on lease to expand the plant. But what is the guarantee that they will leave the land after the agreement ends? If they are making profits from it, will they really leave it?”For farmers, the concern is about what happens to their land and its use over the long term after they sign such agreements.A Dispute Over Land, Maps, and Measurement Pramod Singh, another farmer from Biharaya, had a different experience with the solar project. In 2018, he says the company initially occupied around 5.5 acres of his family’s land adjoining the project area. Pramod objected and approached the tehsil authorities for a measurement. The company later accepted that the land belonged to his family. Pramod eventually sold that portion to the company and received the payment.A separate dispute arose in 2024 when the company leased adjoining land from another landowner and began fencing the leased area. Pramod says the company also took possession of around 1.5 acres of his family’s land, claiming that it belonged to the farmer who had leased the adjoining land to the company. He says the fencing extended onto his family’s land, resulting in another dispute over the boundary. He approached the civil court and obtained a stay order. Advocate Mishra, who is also representing Pramod in the case, said the matter is still before the court, and that the company is continuing to occupy the disputed land despite the stay. Pramod shows a map of his land on his phone, pointing out the portion he says was occupied by the solar plant during fencing along the adjoining land. The land marked in yellow belongs to Pramod, while the land opposite it is leased for the solar project.He said a contempt petition has been filed, naming the local police station and the area lekhpal as parties for allegedly failing to ensure compliance with the court order.Pramod says the dispute has also exposed problems with land records and measurement in the village. “When I objected, the company asked me to get the land measured. I asked them, ‘It is my land. Someone from outside is occupying it, so why should I have to prove it?’” he said.Pramod said that when he approaches the lekhpal for a measurement, he is told that there are no proper land maps for the village. “But when the company needs a measurement, they come with the maps,” he alleged.He has also filed an application for measurement of the land under Section 24 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006.Transmission Lines Bring Another Land Conflict The project’s footprint also extends beyond the main plant through transmission infrastructure. Residents say high-voltage transmission lines pass through agricultural land and close to or over houses. Bhaskar Ojha, a farmer from the village, says transmission lines have affected agricultural land belonging to around 50 farmers in the area. In his own case, the lines have been taken through around 1.5 bighas of his land. He says he has not received compensation for the land, only for the crops. “I had planned to build a house on this land because it is located along the road, while the village has narrow lanes and limited access. Now I can no longer build my house because of the transmission line,” he told The Quint. Ojha says the transmission line has also reduced the value of his land. He says he can neither build a house on it nor expect to get its full value if he sells it.Bhaskar Ojha“The value of my land has gone down. No company will buy it now, and I cannot build a house there either. Even if I sell it, I will have to sell it for much less than its actual value.”He also alleged that in some cases, people were given small amounts of Rs 5,000-10,000 in cash before the transmission lines were installed. He adds that his demand is not for such informal payments, but for compensation according to the applicable government rules.“My demand is simple. I should be given the compensation that I am entitled to under the government rules,” he said.Advocate Ashish Mishra, who is also a resident of the village, says transmission lines have also been taken through around 1-2 bighas of his land. He says he has filed a case regarding the matter, which is currently pending in court.Transmission line corridor running through agricultural fields to connect the solar plant to the power grid.According to Mishra, landowners whose property is affected by transmission lines should be given prior notice. He also points to the Ministry of Power’s revised compensation guidelines issued on 14 June 2024, which provide for compensation equivalent to 30 percent of the land value for certain Right of Way impacts in rural areas.However, he alleges that farmers here have not received the compensation prescribed under these guidelines.When The Quint’s team visited families whose houses were affected by the high-voltage transmission lines, it found that the lines passed very close to two houses.Shaligram, whose house and land have been affected by the transmission line, said:“I had built this house outside the village because I was tired of fights and disputes in the village. I had never expected that I would face another problem outside the village as well. I had planned to extend my house on the land adjoining the existing house, but now this is not possible.”Shaligram, too, received compensation only for the crops. Apart from that, he says, he received nothing. He says he submitted an application to the SDM but has not received any further compensation. He says he now has to live with the fear of the high-voltage line passing above his house.Shaligram shows a copy of the complaint he submitted during Samadhan Diwas in 2025, seeking appropriate compensation.When The Quint contacted Bara SDM Arpit Kumar, he said he had taken charge only a week earlier and was not aware of the matter. He said if the issue was brought to his notice, the administration would look into it.The CSE's Das says:“Transmission infrastructure can affect farmland beyond the land directly occupied by towers. Transmission towers and lines can make it harder to use farm machinery, affect drainage and create other difficulties for cultivation. The current compensation system does not always capture these longer-term impacts on farming, access, and land use.”Open Land Is Also a LivelihoodGudia, 35, an Adivasi woman, earns her livelihood by rearing goats. Her husband occasionally gets cleaning work at the solar plant, but goat rearing remains an important source of income for the family.“There is still some open land, so we are managing for now. But if that land is also sold, where will I take my goats? I will either have to move somewhere else or sell the goats and find some other work,” she said.Gudia is among around a dozen Adivasi families who migrated from other villages four to five years ago in search of work and settled in the area. Her family had earlier put up a hut near the site where the solar project was later developed. After the landowner sold the land, Gudia says they had to move their hut elsewhere.But for these families, access to electricity remains a problem despite living next to a large solar power plant. Electricity has still not reached their huts. The families say they have to travel around a kilometre to a nearby village just to charge their mobile phones at someone else’s house.Her family does not own land in the village, but changes in the use of open land still affect their livelihood.Gudia, a displaced Adivasi woman, earns a living by rearing goats, which supports her family.Gudia's case shows that the impact of a solar project is not limited to people who own the land being used for it. Das explains this is an issue that can be missed when looking only at land ownership. People may depend on land for grazing or other common resources even when they do not own it. Such people can be left out of conventional compensation when land is acquired or its use changes for renewable energy projects, he adds.Cookstoves and Carbon Credits: Inside Bengaluru's Carbon Market BoomEmployment Concerns For some villagers, the expectation of employment was part of the bargain they associated with giving up their land. But the jobs they say were promised did not materialise for everyone. Surendra Singh Chauhan said he gave around 15 acres of land for the project and was verbally assured that he would get a job. But he said he has no written document to support the assurance.“I have visited the plant numerous times and met the plant manager hoping to get a job, but each time I have been disappointed,” he said.Some villagers did get work at the plant, mainly as security guards. The Quint spoke to several of them. They said they were recruited through an agency rather than directly by the company operating the plant.“We work 11-12 hours a day, including night shifts, for around Rs 11,000 a month. There is no proper leave, and we have to work at night and even during festivals,” said Sudhakar Singh, a security guard. Sudhakar Singh has been working as a security guard at the solar plant for the past year.Ojha added that villagers who gave land should not be limited to security jobs. He said employment opportunities should also be offered according to their qualifications and skills.Bhaskar Ojha“If people have given their land for the project, they should be given employment opportunities according to their qualifications. Not everyone should be limited to security guard jobs. Those who are qualified for technical or other skilled positions should also be considered for such jobs.”The Quint contacted Saurabh Singh, project manager of the Biharaya Solar Plant, for a response to the issues raised by villagers. Singh declined to comment. The company was subsequently contacted by email with detailed questions, but no response had been received at the time of publication.The project is operated through UP Mehrauni-I Urja, an SPV of Onward Solar Power, which is ultimately owned by MPCL Industries Ltd. The Quint reached out to them several times on email, but is yet to hear back. This article will be updated as and when they respond.Komil Dwivedi, Project Manager at Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), Prayagraj, said the matter did not directly fall under the agency’s purview, and therefore, she was not in a position to address the issues raised by villagers. Rajasthan’s Sacred Groves Vs India’s Solar Ambitions: Why Are Locals Protesting?The Cost Beyond GigawattsIndia is rapidly expanding solar power. The country had 168.04 GW of installed solar capacity, including nearly 124 GW of ground-mounted solar. Uttar Pradesh had 6.54 GW, including 3.18 GW of ground-mounted capacity.Under its Solar Energy Policy 2022, Uttar Pradesh has set a target of 22 GW of solar projects by 2026-27, including 14 GW through utility-scale projects and solar parks. But as more projects come up, the impact on people living around them also needs to be measured.India’s installed solar power capacity reached 168.04 GW as of 31 August 2026.But as the Biharaya experience shows, the impact of this expansion cannot be measured only in terms of installed capacity and investment. Das says assessments of renewable energy projects should also consider how land is used and how local communities are affected.“If we only look at megawatts, investment and tariffs, we miss a large part of what is happening on the ground,” he said.(This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Avanish Kumar and Saurav Singh are EJN Fellows with the Earth Journalism Network, reporting on renewable energy in India through text and video.)