Jaitapur Disconnect

The attitude reflects the hardened positions in Jaitapur. More significantly,the recent trouble in Jaitapur also underlines how the state government has failed in reaching out adequately to the local population over the years to win them over in favour of the project.

How the opposition grew

The Maharashtra government started surveying the site for a possible nuclear power project in Jaitapur way back in 2004-5 when the India-US nuclear deal was not even a blip on the radar of the two countries. The Centre approved the site in 2005 and the state government even claims that advertisements were published in local newspapers saying land would be acquired for the proposed project. Opposition to the project began to pick up momentum as early as 2008,just as the process of acquiring the 938 hectares needed for the project gained pace. But the half-a-decade since the decision to locate a mega nuclear project on the Konkan coast was taken,is a story of missed opportunities.

At the centre of the lack of trust between the locals and the state government is the grouse of the villagers that the government never took them into confidence and never treated them with respect,leading to an anger that was eventually exploited first by anti-nuclear activists and then by the Shiv Sena for its political gain. Dialogue,leading to building a consensus in favour of the project,it seems,was never on the governments mind. Or if it was,never implemented to local satisfaction.

The government claims it issued advertisements in 2005 saying land would be acquired,but how come no one from the affected villages read the advertisement? Around the same time,they issued notices that our land had been acquired for the project. The 7/12 land ownership document was transferred without our consent. The government was not courteous enough to ask us whether we want to give our land, says Manohar Dhuri,the sarpanch of Niveli and a Congressman who is at loggerheads with his own party over the project.

Other complaints include the way in which villagers say the government went about gathering consent for the project. Milind Desai from Madban village says a meeting was called in 2007 by the collector to give information about the project. During that meeting,officials put up posters and talked about the two units each of 1,000 MW that would come up. After two years,it was declared as a public hearing regarding the project. The hall where they held the meeting does not have the capacity to hold 2,000 people,yet they claimed a majority attended the meeting, says Desai.

Locals also claim that a five-hour public hearing over the Environment Impact Assessment was held on the Hindu auspicious day of Akshaya Trithiya in May 2010,because of which many could not make it. And those who made it were allegedly not given copies of the EIA report.

Politically too,the state government seemed to have got its arithmetic all wrong. The seeds of the opposition to the project were sown when Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan were chief ministers. Both of them didnt pay much heed to the protests and sought to outsource the management of the problem to local strongman Narayan Rane,known for his tough positions. Incidentally,Rane was also Revenue Minister for much of this period and was therefore overseeing the land acquisition process. As the protests grew louder,the government saw them as demands for higher compensation for land lost for much of 2009 and 2010 while the villagers,tutored by activists,were talking of radiation and the birth of deformed children,clearly signifying a disconnect between the two sides.

The gathering storm

Events swiftly spun out of control over the last six months. Irfan Qazi,a local,was run over by a police vehicle in December in a road accident and police arrested 18 people,including activist Milind Desai,on March 1 for rioting after the accident in December. But the timing of the arrest was suspect as it came days after new Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavans visit to Jaitapur to persuade the locals. Desai and other protesters had criticised the government and opposed the project at that meeting. The mounting tension ended up becoming an open invitation for the Shiv Sena to enter the picture and join hands with the groups opposing the project as it sought to take on Rane,a former Shiv Sainik who had undercut the Sena in the region.

The government and NPCIL,however,say they consulted the locals and kept them in the loop. While Ratnagiri District Collector Madhukar Gaikwad says the district administration regularly held talks with villagers about land acquisition and compensation,NPCIL officials say they have so far organised 55 events to raise public awareness. But the response has been tepid. We tried meeting people,but they dont want to listen, says one local NPCIL official. For example,in the case of Sakhri-Nate,a fishing hamlet that is not directly affected by the project,we tried to explain that adequate safety steps would be taken so that their fishing business would remain unaffected. But even that has not convinced people. Since 2010,we even started publishing advertisements in local newspapers regularly.

Also,for over two years now,a team of about eight NPCIL officials has been dedicated to a public outreach programme. From visiting schools and colleges in and around Jaitapur to organising public meetings,attending meetings organised by locals and even by opponents of the project,members of this team have found themselves camping in the area every two or three weeks. But the door-to-door campaigning in the immediate vicinity of the project,including in the village of Madban,has been impossible due to the fierce opposition there, admits one member of the team who was present during Ranes visit to Jaitapur as well as Chief Minister Chavans visit,both marked by vociferous protests.

Over the last two or three months,the outreach programmes also petered out in the villages surrounding the site as the state government advised NPCIL that it may not be entirely safe for its employees to visit these villages. The tsunami in Japan and the Fukushima crisis was a setback to NPCILs efforts. Even former head of the Atomic Energy Commission Dr Anil Kakodkar doesnt deny that the Fukushima crisis and the live coverage of the Japan crisis complicated matters for Jaitapur.

There is an exaggerated picture of the consequences, says Kakodkar. Anything pertaining to nuclear science is immediately construed to be about a nuclear weapon. This is the challenge,we have to be able to help local people understand the difference between a reactor and a bomb. Even explaining the nuances of the Fukushima damage,that the major damage was caused by the tsunami waters,or explaining to locals around the Jaitapur site that the proposed EPR is designed to withstand even an aircraft crash are all challenging assignments. Kakodkar says NPCIL has done much,but well never reach a point when we can say enough has been done to allay peoples fears. The only way forward is for sustained public awareness campaigns to continue,he says.

That awareness seems to be dawning on the Maharashtra government as well. While asserting that the project will go ahead as planned,state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said the government would address the concerns of locals and ensure their grievances are addressed. And the realisation among some protest leaders that the Sena had hijacked their campaign and hurt it by sparking violence,may just help.

Site report

The Jaitapur nuclear power project is proposed to come up in Madban,Varliwada,Niveli,Mithgavane and Karel villages. It takes its name from the Jaitapur creek that surrounds these villages. Of the 938 hectares needed for the project,over 600 belong to Madban and Varliwada. The main nuclear facilities will be in Madban.

Madban and VarLiwadA Locals consider them one but the Revenue Department treats them as two. Madban is at sea-level while Varliwada is on a hillock and the nuclear reactors are expected to be located here. The villagers are mainly farmers who grow paddy,mango and cashew. All its seven village councillors are Shiv Sainiks.

Mithgavane: This village of 1,300 people is surrounded by hills that have mango orchards. Most of its nine councilors are Shiv Sainiks.

Niveli: A paddy,mango and cashew growing village,of its nine councillors,six are from Congress,two from Shiv Sena and one from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

Karel: This village,located on a plateau,has a sizeable Shiv Sena presence.

With inputs from KAVITHA IYER,RAKSHIT SONAWANE amp; SWATEE KHER