Jaitapur nuclear plant meets opposition

Jaitapur nuclear project protest intensifies over spent fuel storage, radioactive waste, and environmental impact in the Konkan; Shiv Sena backs locals as Areva and NPCIL face scrutiny on safety, Chernobyl-scale risk claims.

Construction of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant in Maharashtra, said to be ushering in a new era in India's power generation and announced with much fanfare during French President Nikolas Sarkozy's visit, is encountering strong opposition from activists and political parties.

Activists suspect that the 9,900-megawatt MW nuclear power project is dangerous, as it may store spent fuel from other nuclear plants in the country, even as authorities have identified potential reactor sites nationwide, and have decided to step up their opposition to the plant.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions leader Vivek Monteiro said, "We all know what happened in Chernobyl and how Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were hit. The spent fuel, if stored here, would be several hundred times more dangerous than Chernobyl."

He alleged that a proper "scientific scrutiny" of the plant has not been carried out and that several facts have been hidden. Monteiro pointed out that the project was more about foreign policy and strategic needs than energy requirements, even as Japan power cuts shaped the nuclear debate globally.

Monteiro said that neither the Nuclear Power Corporation of India or French company Areva, which will be constructing the project amid debates over the nuclear liability law framework, could deny "radioactivity issues" involved.

Several political parties, unions and NGOs have joined to challenge the project under the banner of Koncahan Bachao Samiti and Janhit Seva Samiti. However, the main point of worry for the government is opposition from Maharashtra's main opposition party, the Shiv Sena, particularly after land acquisition for the project advanced.

Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray has already met activists opposing the Jaitapur nuclear power project and said that it should not be "imposed" on the people. "If the villagers living in the region are not in the favor of a project, I don't see any point in imposing on them," said Thackeray.

The activists said the project will harm the environment and activities such as agriculture, fisheries and horticulture.

Thackeray has promised the activists that his party members would survey the area as the party had already declared its support to the local farmers, amid reports that farmers oppose coal plants in other states, opposing the 9,900-MW nuclear power project proposed in the biodiversity-rich Konkan belt.

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