Sena forces Kakodkar to drop reference to Jaitapur in speech

[smartindian]

Environmental clearance for Jaitapur nuclear project


The 9900-MWe Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project has received environmental clearance, but with quite a few strings attached.

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced the clearance with 35 conditions and safeguards during a press conference here on Sunday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan termed it a historic day and said that the project would see an investment of Rs. 1 lakh crore.

"It is the largest engineering project ever conceived in the country and the kind of investment it will bring is unimaginable," he said. This is the second big environmental clearance in a row for the State after the Ministry of Environment and Forests cleared the decks for the Navi Mumbai international airport last week.

The Jaitapur project will come up in collaboration with French giant Areva, which will supply uranium and reactor units, according to a booklet released by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. An agreement between Areva and NPCIL is expected to be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's India visit next month.

The project involves setting up six units of 1650 MWe capacity each. The first unit is expected to be commissioned by 2017-18. It will help Maharashtra reduce its energy deficit. "Nearly 1000 hectares of land has already been acquired for the project," Mr. Chavan said.

As for the grievances of the local community, Mr. Chavan said that the State government had formed an Empowered Group of Ministers to enhance the compensation.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article920159.ece

 

[smartindian]

it will be the biggest nuclear power plant ever built wow.................................
that to 1st nuclear reactor which got clearance after Nsg waiver ............good

 

[SHASH2K2]

11 firms paid Sena 500cr for Jaitapur protests: Rane

11 firms paid Sena 500cr for Jaitapur protests: Rane​

MUMBAI: The power politics surrounding the Jaitapur controversy took a dramatic turn on Thursday with state industries minister Narayan Rane accusing the Shiv Sena of opposing the 9,900MW nuclear power project at the behest of 11 corporate houses.

"We have information that 11 corporate houses offered Rs 500 crore to a political party to scuttle the Jaitapur project in the Konkan region," Rane said in the state legislative assembly. "The party in question is none other than the Shiv Sena," he added.

Rane said several corporate houses had business interests in the power sector and were resentful of the proposed nuclear power project at Jaitapur.

He made the statement while replying to the customary last-week motion moved by opposition leader Eknath Khadse of the BJP, the Sena's ally. Launching a scathing attack on the saffron party that was his political launch pad, Rane said, "The Sena had initially planned a rally in Ratnagiri on April 3. However, the date for the rally against the nuclear project was postponed to April 9 following a delay in the payment of money."

He said these corporate houses feared that they would have to lower tariffs on electricity produced by them if the Jaitapur project becomes a reality. "To stop the Jaitapur project, these corporate houses got in touch with the Shiv Sena," he alleged in the House.

In an apparent reference to Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray's reported trip to the Kanha national park earlier this week, when the anti-nuclear stir peaked and a fisherman was killed in police firing at Sakhri Nate, Rane said, "Sena leaders went on a vacation after receiving the advance money from the business czars." Wondering if the Sena's motive was to safeguard the interests of the nation or further its own ends, the former CM said, "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.''

Sena leader Subhash Desai took strong objection to Rane's charges. "If it's proved that we have taken money, we are ready to face punishment," Desai said and urged Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil to expunge Rane's statements from the records of the House.

 

[neo29]

500 cr is way too much. Rane is famous for talking BS.

 

[GPM]

Rs 500 cr is way too much. I am sure they could have done it within 5 cr. Wonder how many crores the contractor paid for clearance.

Ane asyway has his head and ass in the same place.

 

[nrj]

Nagoba (punky snake) is what Balasaheb Thakrey calls him.

Surely the number is unrealistic.

Nevertheless, such allegation is a setback for attention hungry Sena.

Soon Rane will get reply from Mr.Raut in public daily.

 

[ganesh177]

Why shud those 11 firms oppose jaitapur ? Its not that jaitapur is going to quench all the energy thirst of maharashta/india. There is always going to be room for other power projects too. Nothing is stopping them from starting their own projects in other places in maharashtra.

 

[GPM]

Why should the firms worry about being forced to lower the tarrifs? Nuclear power is way costlier than other sources.

 

[SHASH2K2]

​

Wrong target After the death in police firing of a protester against the Jaitapur plant, villagers take it out on hospital staff

 

[Yusuf]

Having learned of some insider of how political deals are made, I would not be surprised if this is true. If you guys think that such work can be done for 5 CR then you have not clue on how things work. All such deals work into hundreds of crores.

To give you an example, in political circles it's common knowledge that the Reddy brothers paid Sushma Swaraj 500 CR a few years back to save their arses from being whipped. That is why they could rise against a CM. Anyone else would have been thrown out for anti party activities. Off course there would be no proof for this as one could imagine, but this is how things work. It would be naive to think such big work where projects could run into thousands of crores could be solved by throwing 5 CR.

 

[Ray]

Shiv Sena takes the cake.

I would not be surprised.

Politics is a money making profession and most feel it so!

 

[Rahul92]

India to tighten nuclear safeguards at Jaitapur plant

India has pledged to put in extra safeguards at a proposed nuclear power plant in western India after recent violent protests against the plan.

Activists say the $10bn (£6bn) plant in Maharashtra is located in a region prone to earthquakes and fear a repeat of Japan's Fukushima disaster.

Local villagers also fear the plant will ruin their traditional fisheries.

India has also decided to set up an independent nuclear watchdog to oversee its existing nuclear reactors.

Earlier this month, one person died and at least 20 people were injured in violent protests following a strike called by the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena opposition party against the plant in Jaitapur.

Construction of the 9,900 megawatt, six-reactor facility, which is being built with technical help from the French energy giant Areva, is due to begin this year.

The government held a meeting attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and decided to go ahead with the nuclear power plant.

"The government is satisfied with the safety aspects of the Jaitapur nuclear plant," V Narayanswamy, a minister in the prime minister's office, said.

Plans for the six-reactor nuclear facility have met with fierce opposition
The government also decided to increase the compensation already paid to villagers whose land has been acquired for the plant, and step up talks with them to assure them of the safety of the plant.

"We have made detailed presentations on Jaitapur to all political parties. The political dialogue will continue and special efforts will be made to convince people that safety will not be compromised," Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra, said.

Mr Chavan said that the protests at Jaitapur were "politically motivated" and accused "outsiders" for instigating the locals against the plant.

Environmental experts say that Konkan, the region in which Jaitapur lies, is one of the most biodiverse regions on earth. They claim it will be destroyed by the plant.

Others have expressed concern that the facility is being built in a seismically-active area.

 

[nrj]

Sena forces Kakodkar to drop reference to Jaitapur in speech

Shiv Sena workers today forced former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar not to make a mention of the proposed Jaitapur atomic power plant in Ratnagiri district in his speech here on the occasion of 'Science Day'.

The Sena activists, who raised slogans against the controversial project at the Agharkar Institute here, which had organised Kakodkar's lecture on 'Future Energy Security', dispersed after the conveners gave them a written undertaking saying that the topic of the scientist's talk would be confined to the theme, without any reference to the plant.

A spokesman of the Sena here said that the party activists would continue to oppose Kakodkar's utterances in support of the Jaitapur plant, which they claimed, threatened the security of the coastal Konkan.

Kakodkar refused to make any comment on the issue when his reaction was sought by reporters after the lecture.

The senior scientist is known for his stand in support of the Jaitapur project, which, according to him is "safe".

Meanwhile, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai that his party would continue to oppose the Jaitapur project.

Asked about the "threats" to former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar's event, Uddhav said, "I will check, who threatened whom."

"Who will be responsible if anything happens tomorrow. It is true that we need power, but if any calamity were to befall, who will own up the responsibility," Uddhav said.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/230456/sena-forces-kakodkar-drop-reference.html