The Jaitapur nuclear power plant, India’s largest, had been cleared by Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh and is the second major project after the Navi Mumbai airport is located in Madban village in Rajapur town of Ratnagiri district and will house 5 European Pressurized Reactors that will produce 9,900 Megawatts (MW) of electricity annually. The project is slated to be spread across 938 hectares of 692 hectares would be used for the project and 246 for the residential purposes.  Uranium will be used for fuel. The project would be jointly developed by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and French firm Areva. The project with a guaranteed life span of 60 years would be completed within six years for each plant.

Announcing his ministry’s clearance for the project, Ramesh speaking to journalists in presence of state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said clearing the project was not an easy task but was a balancing act.

“I do not expect all environmentalists to be happy with this decision. I am prepared for a few brickbats. We have laid down 35 conditions, 23 of which are specific to Jaitapur.”

Reacting to protests against the N-power plant, Ramesh said that his ministry had no jurisdiction over radiology emission which was a major concern among locals and environmentalist.

“I know that this project is coming up in an eco-sensitive area, but then there are other power projects too that are coming up on a strip of coast of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the Konkan belt of Maharashtra which would generate power of 33,000 MW,” he said.

Ramesh also said that a special plant to mitigate the adverse impact on the fisher folk community will have to be implemented.

Apart from protests against the land acquisition form farmers, others have opposed the project raising concerns about the plant’s radiological safety. There have also been allegations that Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared by the Pune-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was faulty.

Chief Minister Chavan said that though compensation has been awarded to the displaced families, a group of ministers was working on the compensation package for the 2,335 farmers who are expected to be affect by the project and the state government will also ensure that these huge numbers of farmers also get a handsome package from the NPCIL.

Meanwhile, speaking to Arab News on phone from Malvan town in Konkan region, Atul Kulkarni an environmental expert said: “After the selection of Prithviraj Chavan as the chief minister of Maharashtra it was for certain that the Jaitapur nuclear power plant would get clearance from the federal government. Therefore the decision on the nuclear power plant did not come as a surprise or shock. However, now we have to see and concentrate as to how minimum loss can be sustained to Konkan region and how the maximum compensation can be obtained for the farmers.”

Another renowned environmentalist Dr. Jayendra Parulekar commenting on the project said: “When Chavan took over the reins of the state chief minister, it was definite that decks for Jaitapur nuclear power plant would get thumbs-up. Soon the French President is coming to India on a short visit. And this move by the federal government is to make the French president happy prior to his visit. Now instead of launching protests, it is better to think how the loss can be minimized. The farmers in Konkan should get equal compensation as that is given to farmers from western Maharashtra region. It is also necessary to ensure that no more nuclear projects come up in Konkan in future,” he added