Living with nuclear power

The selection of the site for the nuclear reactors is a coup of sorts forthe Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). In appropriating 929hectares of for the project and another 150 hectares for the township incoastal Tamil Nadu between Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari, not a single househad to be displaced. Hemmed by the two panchayats mentioned above, the 5-kmcoastal stretch of land is barren, with no vegetation or agriculture worththe name. The upper layer to a depth of some 7 metres is mainly limestonecrust and below it is rocky land. It is in Seismic Zone II, which means thatthere are no faults in the area and is devoid of induced seismic activitybecause of the absence of lakes or dams or the like.

In the acquired area there existed no population and the density ofpopulation within a 30-km radius is extremely low. An estimated 10,000houses comprising of about 40,000 inhabitants dot the perimeter in isolatedconcentrations.

Of this complement, 80 per cent of employable workforce is jobless inKudankulam and about 60 per cent in the fishing village of Edinthakari. InKudankulam, womenfolk generally execute the main vocation of rollingbeedies. These are the people targeted by both the anti-nuke groups and theNPCIL for support and by the dint of this conflict the people in the areaare reasonably aware of the safety and other factors related to nuclearplants.

Over the years, the nuclear establishment has virtually launched apropaganda blitz to woo the villagers. The villagers have been taken toKalpakkam and made to interact with fisher folk and villages there. Seminarsfor the laymen including Russian delegations are periodically held. The fivebarrier-safety zone is painstakingly explained to the villagers. Generationof local employment, alternative agriculture that would be spin-offs fromthe project are held forth as sustaining means of better livelihood and thevillagers have not been immune to these prospects.

Interestingly, the DAE-NPCIL assault is not restricted to mere talk. It hasengaged the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation for research into soil profiles andgreening the barren belt at a cost of Rs 50 lakh per year. The activities ofthe Foundation are very visible to the villagers and they have really begunto believe that the DAE means what it says and by the year 2010 the entirebelt would be greened and blossom into an agro-industrious area.

For Kudankulam, ignored by successive state governments, the nuclear powerplant has suddenly become a messiah that would spell the end of theprolonged economic and social stagnation the belt has seen. There is asaying in the area: Thirunelveli is the southern border of Tamil Nadu as faras the Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam government led by M. Karunanidhi isconcerned.

It is this neglect the DAE is addressing and in the process has held out thepromise of all round development of the region as the price to pay for thenuclear power plant and allay the local fears with regard to safety.Attached to this package, also, is the prospect of the cheapest power in theSouth currently projected at Rs 2.39 per unit.

However, the DAE’s coup de grace is generating the anticipation of endingthe perennial drought in the area by making available water to thirstyKudankulam. The belt has virtually no rainfall worth speaking of. When itdoes rain, the maximum rainfall is recorded to be between 100 to 400 mm. Atthe outskirts where a little ground water is available, the bore wells haveto be dug deeper than 1,000 feet. The villagers pay as much as Rs 2 per potof water today. And it is the problem of water that is going to determinewhether the 1000×2 Mwe Russian-aided Kudankulam Atomic Power Station isgoing to have a smooth passage.

Tomorrow: The science and politics of Kudankulam water