CB BureauA team of experts from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), on October 28, inspected the proposed site for India’s largest nuclear power plant, which is expected to come up at the coastal village of Madban in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
The team did not reveal anything and will soon file a report of the inspection. It may be noted that the villagers were not happy with the team as they claimed that, in fairness, the team should have met them as well.
On October 28, CauseBecause had reported about India signing the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for
Nuclear Damage (CSC) at the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) office in Vienna. A lot of firms that were hitherto reluctant about setting up their nuclear plants in India are now willing to operate in the country.
The Ratnagiri nuclear plant, which is to come up in the form of six reactors of 1,650 mega watts each, manufactured by the French firm AREVA, is slated to come up between a large grassy plateau and the shore.
Union Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh had earlier promised the
villagers that the environment clearance for the project would be given
only after all the doubts of the villagers had been answered.
So far, only a handful of the villagers have accepted the compensation cheques and the rest are resolutely opposed to the nuclear plant on environmental grounds. One of their objections is that Konkan is in seismic zone 3 and is prone to earthquakes.
On Dussehra eve, the villagers defied prohibition orders and lit bonfires of the new compensation package announced by state revenue minister Narayan Rane.