The gramsabhas of Madban and Mithgavhane, two of the villages which are in the vicinity of the project, have passed a resolution opposing the project, implying that the villagers are yet in opposition to the 9900 mw Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project.
Accepting compensation package from the government does not mean we have agreed to the nuclear power project in our backyard, the villagers in and around proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) have told the government.
The gramsabhas of Madban and Mithgavhane, two of the villages which are in the vicinity of the project, have passed a resolution opposing the project, implying that the villagers are yet in opposition to the project.
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“Villagers have opposed the project right from the start. But the land was acquired by using police forces and without consent. The villagers accepted the compensation and ex-gratia amount as there was not even a mention about rehabilitation of those who lost their land,” said the resolution passed by Madban gramsabha. It clarified that the village opposes the project even today.
Following the intense opposition of over five years, the former government had announced ex gratia payment of Rs 22.50 lakh per hectare in addition to the land price. The government has distributed Rs 187.71 crore as ex- gratia payment to 1,744 Project Affected Peoples (PAPs) and Rs 13.10 crore as land price to 1764 PAPs. The project has around 2336 PAPs.
“We will continue our opposition. We have always said that land was grabbed from us and we never gave it willingly. Why should we surrender now?” asked Nandkumar Raut, Sarpanch, Madban.
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The resolution at the Madban is important as the village, ground zero of JNPP project, has1851 PAPs. It is the largest number among all other villages.
Following Madban, another village called Mithgavhane too has passed one line resolution which opposed the project. Several other villages too are likely to pass the identical resolution in coming week.
The developments at the ground level hold importance after several state-level leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reiterated that the project will go ahead at any cost.
On Sunday night, a group of Shiv Sainiks led by local MLA Rajan Salvi barged into the project site. The group vandalised the property at the site and also damaged the JCB machine. Despite being an ally of the BJP, the Sena has always maintained that it opposed the project since people do not want it. It reiterated its opposition to 9900 MW nuclear power project after all Sena MPs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue in the capital on May 13.