Letter to Modi, Obama: Gujarat locals seek consultation, say "no" to nuclear power plant at Mithi Virdi

Seeking “fair and open discussion” on the proposed 6,000 MW Mithi Virdi nuclear power plant in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, the sarpanches of four affected villages – Mithi Virdi, Jaspara, Mandva and Khadarpar – have said that before taking any decision on the project, they should be consulted. Led by Shaktisinh Gohil, sarpanch, Jasapara village, and addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, visiting India as guest of the Republic Day parade, their letter said, they wished to “put on record” their viewpoint regarding the proposed project”.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), a Government of India company, seeks to install six 1000 MW (AP 1000) nuclear reactors with the joint support of the American company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, to implement the project. The letter has been forwarded by influential Vadodara-based environmental body, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti leaders Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah.
“We are deeply concerned that NPCIL has nominated an environmental consulting firm Engineers India Limited lacking necessary accreditation to conduct the environmental impact assessment for nuclear power plants. In fact, no agency in India is accredited to assess nuclear power projects by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training”, the letter said. It was released a day after people of 300 villages which will be directly or indirectly affected by the project observed a one-day fast against the nuclear project.
“In all, 152 villages with a population of more than 200,000 in 30 km radius of the proposed nuclear power plant will be adversely affected by the project. The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture. The rich alluvial soil here supports crops like groundnut, wheat, bajra, and cotton, and fruits like mango, chikoos and coconut. The area also grows and supplies vegetables like onion, brinjal, gourd, tomatoes, and drumsticks on a regular basis to other parts of the state, and the climate and the soil are suitable for cashew nuts”, the letter said.
“This rich agriculture is threatened by the proposed nuclear plant. Moreover, the site of the project is about 5 km from top lignite mining site, while Asia’s biggest ship-breaking yard Alang is only a stones throw away, posing additional threats to public safety”, it insisted.
Pointing out that there is no local sanction to the the plant, the letter said, “On March 9, 2013 the gram panchayats of four most-affected villages -- Jaspara, Mithi Virdi, Mandva, and Khadarpar -- passed a resolution declaring the entire Mithi Virdi-Jaspara region as nuclear free zone. Yet, a state official (taluka development officer) unconstitutionally ordered the elected village head (sarpanch) of Jaspara to grant approval for the state government transfer of forest land to the NPCIL in a letter dated July 15, 2013”.
Meanwhile, the letter reminded the two leader, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has already asked NPCIL to “revise” and “resubmit” its Environment Impact Assessment report of the project, as it lacks clarity on a large number of issues. “The panel criticized the NPCIL for a three year delay in the proposal for environmental clearance following “site clearance” of the project by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, and noted key coastal regulatory clearances to be missing”, the letter added.
Pointing towards “major shortcomings in the environment impact report”, the letter said, the MoEF noted following shortcomings in it:

absence of “base-line radioactivity data for milk samples;”
the absence of the “impact of two hills near the site on atmospheric dispersion;”
only eight water samples were collected and the need to “collect data for three seasons and submit;” the location of the Near Surface Disposal Facilities (NSDF) for radioactive waste was not clear; unclear “impact on land and groundwater;”
absence of current status and a detailed study of “effect of historical tsunamis;” and
no copy of the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state irrigation department “since the project is located in a command area”.

“This casual approach to clearing a nuclear power plant can lead to a major nuclear disaster. Agriculture forms the backbone for human survival, and this project strikes on a very important asset of our country – the prime agricultural lands”, the letter said, adding, “It is not that we are against electricity generation. But no serious thought has been given to the available sustainable alternatives for electricity generation.”
Concluding, the letter puts up forward three set of demands:

The concerned authority should immediately reject the present EIA of Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant of NPCIL prepared by EIL.
Let the sarpanches have fair and open discussion on the proposed 6000 MW Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant Project before taking any decision on the project.
Consider other environmentally sustainable and non-hazardous technologies for electricity production, which can co-exist without disturbing the agricultural livelihoods.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog