MoP Revises RoW Compensation Rules for ISTS Transmission Lines

The Ministry of Power has revised RoW compensation guidelines for ISTS transmission lines, allowing market rates determined by a Market Rate Committee to be used where they exceed applicable circle rates.

October 08, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey

The Ministry of Power (MoP) has revised the guidelines for compensation related to Right of Way (RoW) for Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) transmission lines, introducing a market-rate mechanism where prevailing land values exceed applicable circle rates.

Under the revised guidelines, compensation will ordinarily be based on the circle rate, guideline value or Stamp Act rate. However, where the prevailing market rate is higher, the land value will be determined by a Market Rate Committee (MRC) and used as the basis for compensation.

The guidelines apply to ISTS transmission lines supported by tower bases of 66 kV and above where landowners have objected to compensation because the applicable circle rates are below market rates. States and Union Territories may adopt the guidelines or issue modified policies. Where a State Government has not specified a mechanism for determining land value, the central guidelines will apply.

The MRC will be chaired by the District Magistrate, District Collector or Deputy Commissioner, or a nominee not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate. It will include a district-level Registration Department officer, the concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate and an administrative representative of the relevant civic body.

To determine the market rate, the district administration will select three independent land valuers from the list of valuers empanelled by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). The valuers must submit their reports within 21 days of selection. The highest and lowest valuations will be normalised to within 20 percent of the median valuation, where required, and the final market rate will be calculated as the average of the three valuations after normalisation.

The revised guidelines set compensation for the tower base area at 200 percent of the market value. The tower base will comprise the area enclosed by the four tower legs at ground level, along with an additional one-metre extension on each side.

For the RoW corridor, compensation will be 30 percent of the market value in rural areas, 45 percent in municipalities, nagar panchayats and other notified urban planning areas, and 60 percent in municipal corporations and notified metropolitan areas.

The guidelines also permit alternate compensation where landowners have been offered or accepted compensation under a State or Union Territory's Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) policy.

For projects facing RoW constraints, the Ministry has asked implementing agencies to consider space-optimising technologies, including steel pole structures, narrow-based lattice towers, multi-circuit and multi-voltage towers, single-side stringing, XLPE underground cables, Gas Insulated Lines (GIL), compact towers with insulated cross arms and Voltage Source Converter-based HVDC systems. A cost matrix for these technologies has been provided for project-level assessment.

Transmission Service Providers (TSPs) will identify landowners whose properties fall within the transmission line's RoW during the check survey at the execution stage. Compensation will be paid one time and upfront for the stretch of work covered by the detailed on-site work plan submitted to the concerned District Authority.

The revised guidelines further provide that any additional RoW compensation actually paid by a TSP, compared with the base RoW compensation determined for the ISTS scheme under Tariff Based Competitive Bidding, will be eligible for pass-through under Change in Law by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

An aggrieved party may appeal an MRC decision within 30 days of notification of the rate to an Appellate Authority notified by the State Government. The appeal will be admitted only if the party agrees to allow work to commence at the site pending adjudication of the compensation claim.

Tags:

Business

Ministry of Power

RoW compensation for transmission projects

RoW compensation for ISTS

Market-linked RoW compensation