Description
1. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
AccountabilitiesMajor Activities
Stakeholder & Relationship Management
- Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with landowners, project-affected persons (PAPs), village heads, panchayats, local community leaders and opinion makers along the transmission corridor.
- Act as the primary point of contact for all ROW-related stakeholders and represent the company in local forums, jan sunwais and community meetings.
- Anticipate stakeholder concerns early and design engagement plans to prevent escalation into disputes or work stoppages.
- Maintain a stakeholder database/register capturing profiles, concerns, commitments made and status of resolution.
Landowner Negotiation & ROW Clearance
- Lead negotiations with landowners for tower footing, cable/line corridor and access road requirements, ensuring settlements are fair, documented and within approved compensation frameworks.
- Prepare and execute ROW agreements, consent letters, easement/way-leave documents and voluntary land transfer documentation as applicable.
- Resolve boundary, crop, tree-cutting and structure-related compensation disputes through amicable negotiation, escalating to legal/statutory route only where negotiation fails.
- Track and close ROW clearance for each tower location/route stretch against the project's ROW clearance plan.
Government & Administration Coordination
- Coordinate with District Administration, Revenue Department, Forest Department, Police and other local government bodies for approvals, permissions, law-and-order support and dispute resolution.
- Liaise with State Transmission Utility, Panchayati Raj institutions and other regulatory/statutory bodies on ROW and RoU (Right of Use) matters under the Electricity Act/Telegraph Act framework.
- Represent the organisation in Lok Adalats, district-level grievance redressal committees and government review meetings pertaining to land and ROW issues.
- Build and sustain working relationships with key government officials to enable faster turnaround of approvals and issue resolution.
Advance Planning & Support to Execution Team
- Develop a rolling ROW clearance plan aligned with the construction schedule, ensuring tower locations/corridor stretches are cleared and handed over to site execution teams sufficiently in advance of the construction front.
- Proactively flag anticipated ROW bottlenecks (contentious stretches, forest patches, multiple ownership, disputed titles)
and initiate mitigation well ahead of requirement.
- Coordinate with survey, engineering and construction teams to align tower spotting/route alignment with ground realities and minimize ROW resistance.
- Provide regular look-ahead reports (e.g., 30/60/90-day clearance status) to Project Management and Construction teams to support execution planning.
Compensation & Payment Management
- Process crop/tree/structure compensation and ROW payments to landowners/PAPs in a timely, transparent manner in line with company policy and applicable state/central guidelines.
- Maintain complete and audit-ready documentation for all payments, agreements and consents.
- Coordinate with Commercial team to ensure budgeted provisioning and timely disbursement of ROW-related payments.
Statutory Compliance & Documentation
- Ensure ROW-related activities comply with the Indian Telegraph Act, Right of Way Rules, Forest (Conservation) Act, and other applicable central/state statutes.
- Maintain robust MIS/records of consents, notices served, compensation paid, disputes and their resolution status for audit and regulatory reporting.
- Support internal and external audits and statutory inspections related to land and ROW matters.
Issue Resolution & Crisis Management
- Act as first responder for ROW-related site disruptions (protests, blockades, law-and-order issues) and work towards quick, amicable resolution in coordination with administration and police.
- Escalate high-risk or unresolved issues to senior management with clear options and recommended course of action.
- Maintain a risk register of ROW-sensitive stretches and periodically review mitigation status.
Quality Management
- Ensure ROW documentation, agreements and compensation records are prepared and maintained as per Apraava Energy quality and process standards.
- Coordinate with quality consultants/internal teams and implement recommendations for remedial measures in ROW-related documentation and processes.
- Drive consistency and accuracy of ROW records across the project corridor to support audits and statutory reporting.
HSSE Management
- Implement Apraava Energy HSSE standards and practices fully during all field/ROW engagement activities and train subordinates to imbibe safety culture.
- Ensure safe conduct of site visits, community meetings and negotiations, including compliance with local law-and-order and site safety protocols.
- Support internal and external HSSE audits/rounds relevant to ROW and land activities; monitor and ensure speedy compliance of audit findings.
- Identify and report HSSE risks arising from stakeholder interactions or field activities and ensure timely mitigation.
Team & People Management
- Lead, guide and develop a team of ROW/land officers deployed across the project corridor.
- Set clear targets for ROW clearance milestones and monitor team performance against the construction schedule.
- Build local capability and knowledge of the terrain, community dynamics and administrative ecosystem within the team.
1. SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Educational Qualifications
Graduate in any discipline; Degree/Diploma in Engineering, Law, Rural Development, Social Work or Public Administration preferred. Additional certification in Land Acquisition/R&R; or Revenue Administration is an advantage.
Functional Skills
- Proven experience in ROW/land acquisition and stakeholder management for linear infrastructure projects (transmission lines, pipelines, roads or railways).
- Solid negotiation, persuasion and conflict-resolution skills with landowners, communities and local influencers.
- Working knowledge of the Indian Telegraph Act, ROW Rules, land revenue systems, and forest/environmental clearance processes.
- Established network and comfort in liaising with District Administration, Revenue, Police and Forest Departments.
- Ability to plan proactively – sequencing ROW clearance ahead of construction fronts to avoid schedule delays.
- Fluency in the local language(s) of the project geography; strong interpersonal and community-engagement skills.
- Good documentation, MIS and reporting skills;
- Willingness to travel extensively and be based at remote project/site locations.
Relevant and Total Years of Experience
10–15+ years of overall experience, with a minimum of 5–8 years specifically in ROW/land management, stakeholder engagement or R&R; for power transmission, EPC or other linear infrastructure projects. Demonstrated track record of resolving ROW issues and enabling on-time handover of clear sites to construction teams.
📌 TL Construction and ROW Lead (India)
🏢 Apraava
📍 India