Should Jaitapur Nuclear Power plant be scrapped ?

March 3 , New Delhi : India Should scrap Jaitapur Nuclear Power plant project keeping in view the concern of people,  said Admiral L Ramdas, former Navy Chief in a  talk organised by Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) in New Delhi on Thursday.

Jaitapur Nuclear Power park project consists of six nuclear reactor units with a capacity of 1650 Mega Watts each. India has signed a deal with French company Areva which will provide it European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) units, fuel and services for them. These reactors are one of the largest capacity reactors in the world, nearly four times the capacity of current Indian reactors.

Along with L Ramdas, Other members of CNDP- Vaishali Patel, Praful Bidwai and Anil Chaudhary raised following concerns.

Repression of Farmers protesting peacefully

Jaitapur, in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra,  is boiling due to the increased agitation by mostly local farmers against the government on the issue of alleged forceful acquisition of land by government for nuclear power plant site.  Outsiders are not allowed to visit this area and allegedly heavy police force is stationed in order to limit the activites of people. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan visited the area on February 26 in futile attempt to pacify angered farmers and bring them on discussion table.

But Vaishali Patil, member of CNDP, claims these protesters are being handed with brute force, “koi aapko jor jor se maar raha h, aur aap bol rahe ho ke discussion par aao, are pehle pitayi toh bandh karo uske bad hi toh discussion par aayenge…[someone is beating you(farmers) heavily and you(government) are saying come for discussion, first stop beating then only can they(farmers) can come for discussion] “. The simple demand of farmers is stop repression, take back the police force, and at least have a conducive environment there then we are ready for talks.

Majority of farmers have declined the compensation of their acquired lands and many of the Gram Panchayat officials have resign in protest to the project.

She also claims that govt is trying to make people believe that its safe without telling the ground realities. They are teaching students in govt schools to go and tell their parents that its safe and is in national interest.

Arable Land acquired for site

Government says a large part of 968 hectares of land acquired for plant is barren, therefore the site selection is correct but outraged by this local farmers claim that this is very fertile arable land. Even according to the document of Ministry of Environment and Forests giving clearance to project, 41.9 % land is arable land and 58.1 is barren land. But even the figures of 41.9% of arable are downplayed, according to some critics, Actual arable land is much more.

Destruction of Livelihood

After this project starts, it will destroy the livelihood of thousands of local fishermen, farmers. This land grows the best quality of mangoes and also many other items. After the reactor starts working, fishermen won`t will lose their livelihood due to security reasons and also it is alleged that hot water discharge from reactor will destroy the marine life.

Damage to unique Eco-system

Project site is in western Ghats which is among the world’s 10 hottest biodiversity hotspots. This project will destroy this “India`s most beautiful” region. There are many species of plants which are not found anywhere else in world, claims Admiral Ramdas.

The plant will take millions of litres of cool water from sea and disharge 5 deg celsius warmer water into sea; according to environmentalists this continuous thermal stress will destroy the marine life.

CNDP termed the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s conditions to protect the environment as vague. “Most of the conditions imposed (by Ramesh) should have been done till now,” Anil Chaudhury said.

Untested reactors

Jaitapur project will have six European Pressurised reactors which are not very popularly and come under scrutiny in recent time.

“The EPR reactor being installed in Finland has been delayed by over 42 months and the cost has increased by 90% of the original $3 billion. In addition, the Department of Atomic Energy cannot certify that the plant would be safe,” said Praful Bidwai.

“No nuclear regulatory authority in the world has cleared this reactors” and “nearly 3000 faults have been pointed out” said Admiral Ramdas.

Unsafe Nuclear Energy

“The understanding, in our country, on matters connected with nuclear energy and energy on whole is very limited.” Nuclear Energy is not safe, clean and green, it emits radiations and create pollution, said Admiral Ramdas

Problem of discharge of radioactive waste

World is still struggling with the problem of nuclear waste, how to discharge it. Once the reactor becomes operational, we won`t have any way to discharge nuclear waste, then we will have nuclear waste keep lying all over our country. Even the developed countries like UK have not been able to figure out any solution, said Admiral Ramdas

Earthquake prone area

Critics say, the site lies in Earthquake Zone IV, in the increased severity ranging from I to V. But according to Environment Impact Assesment Report(EIA), it is Zone III. The reactors have to be severe earthquake proofing otherwise it may be a hazard.

Adverse economics of the project

Project is very costly and government is still certain to go ahead with it. “Why should I go and buy and pay 22 crores for one MW of power through the French Areva, when I can make in our own plants where it  will cost me 5 crores to 6 crores per MW ” said Admiral Ramdas.

Will government free itself of “West India Comany”

Bleak future of Nuclear Power

Even after the start of these reactors, we will get only 5% power from nuclear energy, rest of 95% power has to derived from other sources. The Nuclear energy is losing poularity in the world after its peak in 2006. We should use more and more solar energy as India gets one of the most days of sunlight. Also, Goverment should explore the possibility of Hydel energy, which can generate 4,300 MW of power in the Western Ghats region, Admiral Ramdas told.

The region, according to CNDP report, is already getting degraded with many power projects. the Power consumption of this region is nearly 300 MW but it is producing nearly 4550MW.

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This article doesn`t say that Jaitapur Nuclear Power park should be scrapped or Nuclear energy is danger to humanity, it only focuses on the issues identified by Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP).

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