On a day when the world marked the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, India reaffirmed its commitment to an ambitious nuclear energy plan by pushing ahead with the first phase of the controversial nuclear power plant project at Jaitapur in Maharashtra with additional safety measures and a “generous new compensation package” to be announced soon.
But in a concession to heightened public awareness of the need for proper regulation and oversight, the government on Tuesday promised to introduce a bill in the next session of Parliament creating an independent and autonomous Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India that would subsume the existing Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
The AERB has been criticised for being administratively subordinate to the very atomic energy establishment whose operations it is meant to regulate.
The decision to clear the decks for setting up two 1,650-MWe reactors at Jaitapur was taken at a meeting convened here by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy and Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh. Among those who briefed the Prime Minister were S. Banerjee, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy; S.K. Jain of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India that will operate the plant at Jaitapur and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.
The meeting reviewed the current status of the Jaitapur project as well as safety concerns arising out of the nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan and their impact on India's overall nuclear energy programme, Mr. Narayanasamy told reporters. All factors that led to the Fukushima disaster had been factored in, he said. “The Prime Minister was apprised of the doubts and concerns expressed by the local people in Jaitapur about the project, and the measures being taken to address these concerns,” Mr Narayanasamy said.
The first two units, proposed to become operational in 2019, will have their own stand-alone safety and operational system.
Describing the ongoing protests at Jaitapur as “politically motivated,” Mr. Chavan accused “outsiders” of instigating the opposition, adding that these were based on misconceptions and rumours. “We have engaged with the local community and assured them that safety will never be compromised,” he said.
The meeting also decided to make public the initial results of the six safety review committees set up after the Fukushima accident, as also the action taken on previous safety reviews. The government will invite the Operational Safety Review Team of the International Atomic Energy Authority to assist in its own safety reviews and audit. All reactors and technologies, whether indigenous or imported, will, without exception, meet the safety standards that are stipulated by the regulatory authorities and there will be complete transparency in the functioning of the nuclear power programme, Mr. Ramesh said.
The meeting reiterated that India's nuclear energy needs were vast and growing and nuclear energy was an important clean energy option which would be pursued with full regard to the safety, livelihood and security of the people. “Government's intention is to ensure nuclear power that is safe, secure and economical. While imported reactors have their place, indigenously-designed and developed reactors will continue to be at the very foundation of the country's nuclear programme,” Mr Narayanasamy said.
Environmental approval for the Jaitapur Power Park was accorded in November 2010 with 35 preconditions. The Prime Minister was informed that each of the conditions would be adhered to in a fully transparent manner. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the two reactors would be done when both become operational in 2019. An official release said Dr. Singh underscored that safety of nuclear power plants was a matter of the highest priority and there was need for improving public communication and outreach on the part of the Department of Atomic Energy and the National Power Corporation of India Limited.
Keywords: Jaitapur power plant, nuclear safety, Jairam Ramesh
Dear Sir ,
Energy is very essential as food is . We are biggest polluter on earth by uninhibited growth of population who will feed them and employ them . Our public have no clear understanding of projects . France produce 70% of power from nuclear source . These environmentalists and shortsighted intelligentsia is rogue who just know how to criticize and dont put forwards any positive solution . Same is the case with our stupid opposition . They will do the same when they are in power .
This time target of 12 th five year plan must be fulfilled at any cost .
In a democratic social welfare state,the Government is duty-bound to work with public consent to promote the health and welfare of the people who are the masters of the Government servants and the elected representatives in the state legislatures and the parliament.By looking at the decision-makers on Jaitapur Nuclear plant,we find that they do not represent the people as they have not been elected by the Indian people but they have been indirectly thrust over the people heads as the autocrats like Hitlers of Nazi Germany and we know what Hitler did to kill lakhs of Jews in the war camp.A similar scenario is planned by the Atomic Energy Commission of India by pressurising the ecologically illiterate Prime Minister and the Union minister for Environment who should be sent to Germany immediately to get educated on the advantages and disadvantages of these massive Nuclear Reactors from the economical,ecological,environmental,health and safety perspectives of the millions of Indians.
By pushing this project, does the government mean that our environmentalists and scientists are wrong? How can they risk the lives of their countrymen and who gave them the right to do this? What the media is doing in this regard? Are these comments being taken to the decision committee? Everyone's opinion should be taken on this, before passing this life staking project.
Opposing the Jaitpur Plant in view of the Fukishima tragerdy would not be wise. What could Japan would have done but produce nuclear energy, given the lack of conventional energy resources there. Though India is more abundant in conventional energy resources than Japan but for how long. India's thermal power capacity that has been created will be unused in the years to come because of the lack of coal. I agree that with nuclear energy we are taking chances but how else can we dream of a developed India. Japan is what it is today just because it took her chances back then. All form of energy generation have their pros and cons. So i believe in taking the chances and moving forward, specially when the cons of the project are being taken into account.
GOI's decision proves that the UPA is working on the guidelines of USG as disclosed by wikileaks. Rightly pointed in the post by other readers, if they (UPA and GOI) are so inclined for nuclear energy, set up a nuke plant right there in front of Sansad Bhavan.
Government must come forward with elaborate list of possibilities leading to accidents and proposed safty measures in each and every case.Confidence of a lay man can be strengthened only by explaining the facts with smple logics.
I don't know why the Central Government is trying to push the project even though the locals and people in the region, eminent environmentalists and scientists are against the project. This is a mockery of 'democracy'. You cannot push down a nuclear project with untested reactors down the throats of people who don't want it. Why don't you set it up in your backyards in Delhi? Will you give up your homes and land for the sake of power project? If no, what right do you have to take other people's land?
The Government of India is for the people, by the people and from the people, but looking at this scenario it looks like even if the people dont want , the GOI is not ready to rethinks this nuke plant. I thinks in India we dont have go for this nuke plants, we can generate energy from the natural resources then why we are opting for a more dangerous and self destructing resources? Is the nuke plant above the people of India?
As a whole it is a good step because considering growing demand of energy and to secure energy for India's future demands,increasing nuclear energy output is essential. The nation building process cannot be compromised due to some politically motivated protest, but on the other hand government should understand that life of each and every citizen of country is prime importance, so there must not be any neglect at the security level.
What kind of 'compensation' was meant by the 'generous new compensation package'? Compensation for what? Where is the money for this compensation coming from? I understand that the economic losses in Japan were to the tune of Rs.200000 crores. Who is going to foot such a huge bill? I am not sure that the government's top priority is to ensure nuclear power that is safe. If they are safe, why don't they built them right in the outskirts of Delhi or Mumbai? Why?
Vinash kale vipareeta buddhi, so goes an old saying. It means that during the time of our impending destruction,we go against the advice of our intellect. One would like to remind the Prime Minister about this bit of ancient wisdom. It is not yet too late, Dr.Manmohan Singh,to realise that adamancy has no place in governance. May your intellect guide your decisions and actions!
What a shame..It was quite apparent from the disaster of the Fukushima power plant that how the so called top tech giants ( Japan and US - the Fukushima plants emergency generators were from General Electric) didnt have technology to control the NO-Clear Energy. All the latest US No-Clear plants claims to have capacity to withstand 6.0 scale earthquake! Are we really sure that No-Clear energy is safe enough? Are we that desperate that the PM choses to ignore all the facts?
Some disasters arise due to natural phenomenon and some are caused by human mistakes, by inaugarating nuke power plant at Jaitapur we will welcome a disaster for which we will be responsible. 'A man is smart if he learns from his own mistakes, but a man who learn from others mistakes are genius'.Please convey this message to our government.
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