Jaitapur N-power unit

The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has given environment clearance to the controversial Jaitapur nuclear power project slated to come up in Madban village (Ratnagiri district) along the Konkan coast. This is the second major project, after the Navi Mumbai airport, to be cleared by minister Jairam Ramesh in a week. The 9,900-mw Jaitapur nuclear power plant, the country’s largest, will be set up in collaboration with the French firm Areva. The final contracts are scheduled to be signed in the first half of 2011.
The project has elicited a huge outcry, with mass protests by local fishermen and environmentalists who fear that it will not only destroy the rich marine biodiversity of the Konkan belt but also destroy the livelihood of the local population. “The true impact of the project of this scale will never be known unless one decides to do a comprehensive bio-diversity assessment. The thermal discharge of this scale is bound to cause an eco-system shift in a large area. Even a 0.5 degree of continous thermal stress will lead to mortality of marine species. And here we are talking about a 5 degree shift,” said Deepak Apte, marine biologist and deputy director of the Bombay Natural History (BNHS) said. Incidentally, the environment clearance for Jaitapur project was given in just 80 days from the time the final environment impact assessment (EIA) report was submitted by the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL). An agreement between Areva and NCPIL is expected to be signed during French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s visit to India next month.
While approving the project, MoEF has prescribed 35 stringent conditions and safeguards, of which 23 specific conditions would have to be met within a year’s time. These include the preparation of a comprehensive biodiversity conservation plan, with the BNHS and the state forest department, to maintain the health of 150 hectares of mangroves in the area. Stressing the need for cleaner technology, Ramesh said nuclear energy was a cleaner option compared to coal. “From the environment point of view, a nuclear project is land-intensive and greener. Today 38% of India’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the electricity generation sector. If we wish to maintain a GDP growth rate of 9% every year, then our power sector needs to grow at 7% annually,” he said. However, Ramesh admitted that there were serious concerns about the large number of coal-based and mining projects that are coming up in the eco-fragile Konkan belt. Apart from the Gadchiroli-Chandrapur area, the western ghats are the sole remaining green zone in the state. The proposals of many new coal-based power plants in this area (which generate a total of 33,000 mw power) will add up to huge environmental problems, Ramesh warned.
Elaborating on the conditions laid down for the Jaitapur project, Ramesh said that a special plan to mitigate the adverse impact on the fisherfolk community will have to be implemented. The cooling water system will be designed to discharge into marine areas beyond 2.2 kilometres. It shall also be ensured that the temperature differential of the discharged water with respect to intake does not exceed 5 degree celsius at any given point of time, he said. Ramesh added that the radioactive level in different components of the environment, including the food chain and quality of air, water and soil, shall be monitored regularly as per Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) standards.
State chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is also a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and Dr S Banerjee, chairman of AEC, were present at the function on Sunday. Chavan said that though compensation has been awarded to the displaced families as per the law, the state will see to it that the 2,335 farmers get a handsome package from NPCIL. “We will pay them more and also provide them permanent jobs,” Chavan said.