Noting that the project has "serious and insurmountable" problems, a network of organisations advocating nuclear disarmament today said that they are opposed to the "unsafe and eco-destructive" Jaitapur nuclear project and farmers and fishermen of the area will protest against it from tomorrow.
Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace(CNDP) said that even while French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest at this Republic Day parade, farmers and fisherfolk in Jaitapur will be protesting the entire week against his visit as the nuclear reactors being imported from France for proposed installation in Jaitapur, Maharashtra, "threaten" their lives.
The statement comes on a day when India and France encouraged their industrial companies to conclude techno-commercial negotiations by the end of the year for the construction of six, instead of two, nuclear power reactor units at Jaitapur.
During the talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hollande reassured reliable, uninterrupted and continued access to nuclear fuel supply throughout the entire lifetime of the plants.
"The French President will be the chief guest at this Republic Day parade, but 1800 kms from New Delhi, farmers and fisherfolk in Jaitapur will be protesting this week against Hollande's visit as the nuclear reactors that India is importing from France threaten their lives, livelihoods and the local ecology," the coalition said.
Social activist Aruna Roy, Priya Pillai of Greenpeace India and Kumar Sundaram of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace(CNDP) said this while addressing reporters here.
"The Jaitapur project has serious and insurmountable problems - large-scale devastation of pristine and fragile ecosystem of Konkan, destruction of livelihoods for thousands of local farmers, fisherflk, alfonso cultivators and traders engaged in agro-business," they said.
Underlining some "crucial risks, they said that there are active seismic faultlines beneath the proposed site and vulnerabilities of Areva's reactor design was exposed by the French nuclear regulator itself.
"In the interest of common people of India, we oppose this unsafe, expensive, eco-destructive and anti-people project. The government must initiate a democratic dialogue for a sustainable future for India.
The coalition alleged that the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) report for the Jaitapur plant was conducted in a farcical and hurried manner by the previous government.
They said that it was done without even looking into look into the crucial aspects radiological releases, decommissioning and nuclear waste, besides summarily neglecting the vital issues of ecosystems and livelihoods, terrestrial ecosystems and farming, mangrove forests and the fragile marine ecology and fisheries in the region.
"BJP had then demanded a fresh EIA for the project. Similarly, the Narendra Modi government has taken a U-turn on nuclear liability and has gone further than the previous regime in placating the nuclear vendors.
"In case of any nuclear accident, the Modi government has provided a insurance pool to the supplier companies from the public money, essentially channeling back the liability to the common people," it said.
Noting that although the former chief of India's Atomic Energy Commission promised a tariff of maximum Rs 6.50 per unit for the electricity produced in Jaitapur, independent experts have claimed it will be much higher - between Rs 15 to 20 a unit, far expensive than even domestic nuclear power plants.
"If we go by costs of EPRS in Britain, each EPR in India would cost Rs 60,000 crore, meaning the two reactors in Jaitapur's first phase would cost equal to the total expenditure on science and technology," it said.
Greenpeace India had recently questioned the Centre's nod to Jaitapur nuclear power project, claiming that a Geological Survey of India (GSI) report had found 16 fault lines near the site and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "re-evaluate" the approval.
