Twenty leaders of the CPI(M), including Bhaviri Krishnamurthy, D. Govinda Rao, P. Tejeswara Rao, and Ch. Ammannaidu, were arrested on Wednesday when they went to the Ranasthalam tahsildar office to register their protest against the handing over of land to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to facilitate construction of a nuclear power plant in Kovvada.
The party alleged that the NPCIL was in a hurry to construct the project without obtaining the site clearance certificate from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
According to the leaders, both the Revenue and the NPCIL officials exchanged the documents in a discreet manner and kept the people in the dark.
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They alleged the government did not conduct a public hearing, which was a must under the Land Acquisition Act of 2013.
The leaders also alleged that people were being forced to vacate the villages even before the construction of the R&R Colony. They feared the power plant would pose danger to people living between Chatrapur of Odisha and Kakinda as the area formed part of the sensitive Seismic zone.
Mr. Govinda Rao said efforts would be made to mobilise people of all villages located in and around Ranasthalam against the project.
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“We are striving hard to draw the attention of the national leaders to the violation of rules and regulations in the acquisition of land,” he said.