Agency which carried out Environmental Impact Assessment of N-plant not accredited: Environmentalists

Trupti Shah

By Our Representative

Rohit Prajapati

In a glaring revelation, senior environmentalists Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah, from Vadodara, Gujarat, have brought to fore a top document which says that though environment public hearing (EPH) for 6000 MW Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant is proposed for March 5, 2013 at Navagam (Nana) village, Taluka Ghogha, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, the agency which prepared environment impact assessment has till date not got any accreditation by the top Central authority, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) for nuclear projects.
In a letter to Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, other senior government officials of the Central government and state government, the environmentalists says, “It is really shocking that an establishment like Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, claiming to be taking utmost care for safety measures has nominated Engineers India Limited (EIL), Delhi, as consultant for preparing Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report for proposed 6000 MW Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi area of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat. The said agency, EIL, does not have necessary accreditation to conduct EIA for Nuclear Power Plants.”
The letter says, “This has been mentioned in the EIA report itself on page Nos 387-389, volume I.” The environmentalists quote The EIA report as stating:
“12.0 DISCLOSURE OF CONSULTANTS
“... The division is assisted by a multi-disciplinary team with engineers and scientists with experience ranging from seven to thirty years or more and equipped with the latest computer software and hardware. It is capable of providing the entire range of services related to environmental pollution assessment, control and management to the following major sectors of industry in India and abroad:
· Petroleum Refining
· Petrochemicals
· Oil and Gas Processing
· Metallurgy
· Chemicals
· Food Processing and Dairy
· Distillery
· Fertilizers
· Thermal Power Plants
EIL is also capable of providing environment related services for various other industries like textile, eather, pulp and paper etc. besides the different industries mentioned above…
“…National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) – under the Accreditation Scheme for EIA Consultant Organisations has accredited EIL as EIA consultant for 9 EIA Sectors, vide NABET notification dated 14.09.10. The list of sectors for which the accreditation has been accorded by NABET is given in Fig. 13.1. The same can be referred from the NABET website www.qcin.org/nabet/about.php.”
“… For “Nuclear Power projects and processing of nuclear fuel” sector EIL’s application along with other consultants are still pending at NABET. However, till date NABET has not cleared any application related to nuclear sector.”
The environmentalists, for ready reference of state and Central officials, have attached the relevant pages of the EIA report, pointing out, “Facts on pages 387-389 of Volume – I of EIA for Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant by EIL invites strict action against NPCIL and the EIL also. We are really shocked that how come the concerned authority has given clearance for conducting EPH in such a matter of grave concern involving security of the lakhs of people.

In their demand, they state that:
1. The concerned authority should immediately reject the EIA of Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant of NPCIL prepared by EIL.
2. The concerned authority should immediately cancel the public hearing.
3. The concerned authority should apologise to the people of Gujarat for such a grave mistake allowing the public hearing on an illegal EIA.
4. The concerned authority should pass stricture against NPCIL and consultant EIL for such an illegal action on their part.

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Search This Blog