NUCLEAR PLANT: No let-up in opposition from villagers,only 7 accept cheques The Maharashtra government has assured the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) that it will complete the process of acquiring land for the ambitious Jaitapur nuclear project in the Konkan region,the first plant to be set up after the India-US civil nuclear deal,by January even though there has been no let-up in the opposition to the project by villagers in the region. The NPCIL has been assured by the state government that the 946 hectares of land will be handed over by the end of the year, NPCIL additional chief engineer (Jaitapur project) SB Joshi told a news conference on Friday,adding that once the land is acquired the NPCIL will take possession and begin the work. Maharashtras special land acquisition officer,Ratnagiri,Makrand Deshmukh said the acquisition process for three villages Niveli,Karel and Mithgavane had been completed. However,only seven people have accepted the cheques. Even if they dont come forward in the due time,the land will be acquired by the state government and handed over to the NPCIL, he said. For Madban and Varelwada,the process of handing out cheques will begin soon. The project involves Areva of France supplying two reactors of 1,650 MW each for the first of the three-phase project,which will eventually cost over Rs 1 lakh crore. We are negotiating some technical aspects with Areva for the light water reactors. Once that is done,the concreting of the plant would begin, Joshi said. The news conference,meanwhile,was disrupted by the villagers from Ratnagiri who alleged that the radiation from the project would harm them besides putting them in risk of a Chernobyl-like disaster. The effluents released in the air can cause radiation on the people living around the area. There have been recent instances of such accidents in the US. What is the guarantee it wont repeat in our village? said Praveen Gawankar of the Janhit Seva Samiti formed to oppose the project. The NPCIL officials,however,said the design and construction of a plant did not allow radioactive leakage. They also assured the villagers of their health by stating an external agency,Environment Survey Laboratory,under the Department of Atomic Energy would be monitoring the radioactivity in the atmosphere daily.
