The Maharashtra state government has achieved a vital breakthrough in the talks with organizations spearheading the opposition to the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district.
Following a series of meetings with the Janahit Seva Samiti (JSS) and other splinter groups, the two sides
announced that a mutual agreement had been reached and there would not be any more protests. The JSS, one of the major groups opposing the project, had been agitating since 2004. Another agitating group, the Konkan Bachao Samiti, is now nearly dysfunctional.
Industries minister Narayan Rane held a series of meetings with the groups on Friday. “From here on, there are no more hurdles left to be cleared against the project and we expect the work to start on the plant as early as possible,” Rane said. “We have agreed in-principle to their demands.” The JSS and its leaders Pravin Gavankar and Dr Milind Desai said the group had decided to come out of its agitation as the state had agreed to work on their demands.
A final meeting will now be held with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan within 15 days for approval. Some of the major demands of the group were removal or limiting restriction of development around the ‘sterile zone’ as it will prevent growth of the region, setting up of mango processing units in the ‘buffer zone’ to create jobs, development of health and educational facilities in the zone, inclusion of more family members in the list of beneficiaries, and withdrawal of past cases against protesters who took part in the agitation.
“The JSS approached the state government with the sense of rapprochement through the local unit of the Congress,” SDO of Rajapur subdivision Praveen Khade said. “With most of the demands met, this is vital breakthrough for the state.”
There have been protests in the past by the locals of villages Madban, Varliwada, Karel, Niveli and Mithgavane. In a protest in 2011, one person died during police action and eight others were injured. The protesters had raised concerns over the credibility of the Environment Impact Assessment Report prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.
Following a series of meetings with the Janahit Seva Samiti (JSS) and other splinter groups, the two sides
announced that a mutual agreement had been reached and there would not be any more protests. The JSS, one of the major groups opposing the project, had been agitating since 2004. Another agitating group, the Konkan Bachao Samiti, is now nearly dysfunctional.
Industries minister Narayan Rane held a series of meetings with the groups on Friday. “From here on, there are no more hurdles left to be cleared against the project and we expect the work to start on the plant as early as possible,” Rane said. “We have agreed in-principle to their demands.” The JSS and its leaders Pravin Gavankar and Dr Milind Desai said the group had decided to come out of its agitation as the state had agreed to work on their demands.
A final meeting will now be held with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan within 15 days for approval. Some of the major demands of the group were removal or limiting restriction of development around the ‘sterile zone’ as it will prevent growth of the region, setting up of mango processing units in the ‘buffer zone’ to create jobs, development of health and educational facilities in the zone, inclusion of more family members in the list of beneficiaries, and withdrawal of past cases against protesters who took part in the agitation.
“The JSS approached the state government with the sense of rapprochement through the local unit of the Congress,” SDO of Rajapur subdivision Praveen Khade said. “With most of the demands met, this is vital breakthrough for the state.”
There have been protests in the past by the locals of villages Madban, Varliwada, Karel, Niveli and Mithgavane. In a protest in 2011, one person died during police action and eight others were injured. The protesters had raised concerns over the credibility of the Environment Impact Assessment Report prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.
No comments:
Post a Comment