Work related to developing 10,000-Mw Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra would be carried out: Ramesh

Despite the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the government has said the work related to developing the 10,000-Mw Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra would be carried out.“As of now, Jaitapur stays on. My ministry had already given a conditional environment clearance to the project on November 28, 2010. The Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) is currently holding negotiations with Areva, the supplier of reactors to the project,” said Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.Ramesh, however, said the safety measures at the project site would have to be strengthened. “I must say Fukushima is a wake-up call. India can draw lessons from it. Therefore, safety applications at the Jaitapur nuclear project comprising six reactors should not be interlinked but separate.” He added the Ministry of Environment and Forests was not the agency to deal with the issue of nuclear safety, and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board took care of such issues. Ramesh said his ministry had set up a committee to review the impact of all coastal projects, including nuclear projects, on the environment. This, he said, would help in dealing with environmental crises.

India could not afford to neglect nuclear capacity addition, Ramesh said. “Currently, nuclear power is just 3 per cent of the country's installed capacity. This would be increased to 6 per cent by 2020 and to 13 per cent by 2030. Nuclear is the best option,” he said.

Ramesh said the Jaitapur project could not be compared to the Posco project in Orissa, since it was not forest area. Unlike the Posco project, in which he had received resolutions from two Gram Sabhas, no such resolutions had come from Gram Sabhas on the Jaitapur project site.

Mahrashtra Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan, who met Ramesh earlier in the day to discuss various infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, said he had visited the project site and met villagers. He had also interacted with experts in Mumbai and discussed various issues pertaining to the project. “I have already clarified that the Jaitapur project will not have any major impact on fisheries,” he said.

The statements by Ramesh and Chavan follow the Shiv Sena's agitations against the project last week.