HYDERABAD,2011,December31: Despite widespread public protests, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to go ahead with land acquisition for the 6,000 MW nuclear power plant at Kovvada in the north coastal district of Srikakulam.The state government has issued an order to acquire 1000 hectares of land from farmers in the region including 775.5 hectares for the power plant, being set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and another 125 hectares for an integrated township.
The move comes in the backdrop of raging protests over the Kudankulam plant in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The government constituted a eleven-member team and appointed 28 officials on contract for the purpose of land acquisition. The NPCIL will pay for the land and salaries to the acquisition staff while the state-run AP Power Generation Corporation will be the nodal agency to oversee the entire project.
The proposed nuclear plant has raised the hackles of local farmers, opposition parties and environmentalists who argue that it would cause pollution and large-scale displacement. “The proposed nuclear reactors at Kovvada are untested and could be unsafe. It is unfortunate that India has embarked on a nuclear adventure by opening the floodgates to foreign reactors, without ensuring that matching arrangements exist for an independent regulatory oversight. The centre has shown utter disregard to public opinion,” said EAS Sarma, a former Union Energy Secretary and noted environmentalist. Ironically, Kovvada was among the first set of four sites identified by the government last year for setting up nuclear plants as part of the civil nuclear agreement with United States. The ambitious Rs600 billion plant involves construction of six nuclear reactors with the capacity of each unit varying from 1000 MWe to 1250 MWe. Being developed with US technical know-how, the project requires a whopping 9,000 acres of land. The other three sites identified by NPCL for establishing nuclear parks are Pati Sonapur (Orissa), Haripur (West Bengal) and Kutch (Gujarat).
The move comes in the backdrop of raging protests over the Kudankulam plant in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The government constituted a eleven-member team and appointed 28 officials on contract for the purpose of land acquisition. The NPCIL will pay for the land and salaries to the acquisition staff while the state-run AP Power Generation Corporation will be the nodal agency to oversee the entire project.
The proposed nuclear plant has raised the hackles of local farmers, opposition parties and environmentalists who argue that it would cause pollution and large-scale displacement. “The proposed nuclear reactors at Kovvada are untested and could be unsafe. It is unfortunate that India has embarked on a nuclear adventure by opening the floodgates to foreign reactors, without ensuring that matching arrangements exist for an independent regulatory oversight. The centre has shown utter disregard to public opinion,” said EAS Sarma, a former Union Energy Secretary and noted environmentalist. Ironically, Kovvada was among the first set of four sites identified by the government last year for setting up nuclear plants as part of the civil nuclear agreement with United States. The ambitious Rs600 billion plant involves construction of six nuclear reactors with the capacity of each unit varying from 1000 MWe to 1250 MWe. Being developed with US technical know-how, the project requires a whopping 9,000 acres of land. The other three sites identified by NPCL for establishing nuclear parks are Pati Sonapur (Orissa), Haripur (West Bengal) and Kutch (Gujarat).