Activists from five villages in the project-affected region of Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant will organise a mass stir next week to protest the lapse in projected timeline for the project.
Villagers of Madban, Jaitapur, Mithgawne and surrounding villages have demanded that the project be scrapped altogether as the livelihood of farmers, fishermen and cattle grazers had been brought to a standstill as they had given up their land for it.
The activists, spearheading the protest, said that the environmental cle)arance for what was hailed as world’s largest power-generating station ended on November 26, 2015. Pointing out to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994, which mentions that the clearance should be granted for not more than five years, villagers said no new proposal had been submitted for the same.
“In the year 2004, the government proposed the plant and the first public hearing took place on May 16, 2010. The EIA report that was submitted was not only flawed but was misleading. We had submitted a number of objections and not one was addressed. Our livelihood was snatched away from us,” said Prakash Waghdhare, from Madban, Jaitapur, Mithgawne Panchkroshi Sangharsh Samiti (MJMPSS).
Premanand Tiwarkar, who had filed an RTI regarding project-related documents, said that the repercussions of ignoring the impact of the project were vast and hazardous. “The plant will be built on basalt rock which is 27m below the current region and is already in an earthquake-prone area. Misleading information is being submitted to the environment ministry regarding the project site. We had filed an RTI, requesting documents pertaining to the project, but even after filing for an appeal, the officials have not answered the queries,” said Mr Tiwarkar.
He further added that of the 32 conditions, put up by then environment minister Jairam Ramesh to Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), not a single had been adhered to nor the project had started despite the EIA deadlines having lapsed.
