Govt go-ahead to Jaitapur, decides to set up N-regulator

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Refusing to give in to protests
against Jaitapur nuclear plant, government on Monday decided
to go ahead with the project but made it clear that safety
aspects would be given top priority in a transparent manner
and a bill will be moved to set up an independent regulator.
The decision to push the project in the western Indian
state of Maharashtra, to be built by France, was taken at a
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which
considered the apprehensions and concerns arising from the
radiation leak scare in Japan and the steps needed to address
these.
At the meeting attended by Environment Minister Jairam
Ramesh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee it was
underlined that Jaitapur plant was crucial as part of India's
aspirations to raise the proportion of nuclear power in the
energy mix.
It was noted at the meeting that the protests against the
Jaitapur project were mainly because of "political" and
"ideological" reasons fuelled by Shiv Sena (Maharastra based
political party) and efforts would be made to convince the
locals that the plant would not be harmful but beneficial for
them.
"There is no question of pause (on Jaitapur project),"
Chavan said addressing a press conference along with Ramesh,
Banerjee and V Narayansamy, Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO).
He was responding when pointed out that Ramesh had
recently suggested a "pause" on nuclear projects in India in
the wake of the Fukushima disaster, which was triggered by a
tsunami last month.
At the meeting, Singh is understood to have expressed
displeasure over Ramesh's "pause" remarks, saying such
comments fan the protests.
The Prime Minister is also learnt to have directed Ramesh
to attend the press conference to announce the government's
intention to go ahead with the Jaitapur project, sources said.
Making it clear that the project would go ahead, a PMO
statement said it would be "implemented in a phased manner
with two 1650 MW reactors to begin with."
A comprehensive environmental impact assessment of these
reactors will be done when both are operational by 2019, it
said.
Acknowledging that "apprehensions" and "genuine
concerns" have increased after the Fukushima incident, Chavan
said he was ready to discuss and address these and hoped the
people would realise that the project in totality was
beneficial for the state.
As part of boosting confidence about safety of atomic
plants, the government decided to introduce in the next
session of Parliament a bill for setting up an autonomous
Nuclear Regulatory Authority that will subsume the Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board.
Banerjee sought to allay fears on account of location of
the Jaitapur project, saying it was in seismic zone III, which
was not prone to earthquakes of high intensity.
Despite that, it would be designed in a manner to
withstand high intensity quakes, he said.
Chavan said majority of nuclear plants in Japan,
including Fukushima, were located in seismic zone V.
Contending that proper safety measures would be taken
at Jaitapur visualising all possible dangers, Chavan said, "I
will hold dialogue till the concerns of the last person who is
affected are addressed."
Singh asked the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to
improve public communication and outreach and asked Banerjee
to make public initial results of the safety review committees
constituted in the wake of the Fukushima accident.
The Prime Minister also asked DAE to make public the
action taken by the department on previous safety reviews.
Ramesh noted that fears on account of nuclear plants had
increased after the Fukushima incident and it was the
responsibility of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and
government to clear these.
He insisted that there were no differences in the
government over the fact that the proportion of nuclear power
needed to be increased from the present three per cent to six
per cent by 2020.
On the protests in Jaitapur, Chavan said these were
mainly due to "political" or "ideological" reasons fuelled by
"outsiders" and Shiv Sena.
Ramesh sought to link Jaitapur protests to those
witnessed in Singur and Lalgarh in West Bengal, which also saw
resistance to industrial projects.
The government will soon announce a new "generous"
compensation package for those whose land has been taken for
the project.
The PMO also announced that the bill for setting up of
the autonomous Nuclear regulator would have statutory powers
which were missing in the existing AERB.
The AERB currently functions under the aegis of the
Atomic Energy Commission and there have been repeated and
persistent demands for greater autonomy for the regulator as
India embarks on expansion of its nuclear power generating
capabilities.
The Prime Minister also directed the DAE to invite the
Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) of the global nuclear
watchdog IAEA to assist in its own safety reviews and audits
of nuclear power plants.
A review by OSART, comprising international teams of
experts, will increase the confidence levels in the nuclear
plants in the country, Banerjee said.