By IANS,
New Delhi: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday called for an immediate halt to the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra in view of the nuclear meltdown in Japan.
The CPI-M said locals were totally opposed to the location of the plant in their area and had refused to accept the “forcible acquisition of their lands” for the project.
“Given the crisis which has developed in some of the nuclear power reactors in Japan after the tsunami and the threat of a meltdown, it is imperative that the environmental clearance given to the project be withdrawn,” the party said. “The issue should be reexamined.”
The 9,900 MW Jaitapur power project, coming up in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, is to be set up with imported nuclear plants from the French company Areva. The CPI-M said these reactors, based on the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology, have not been commissioned for operation anywhere in the world.
“There are questions about the reliability and safety of these new reactors which are also much more expensive. Both in France and Finland, the construction of these reactors have run into difficulties.
“The justifications being given about the EPR project at Jaitapur by the concerned authorities cannot be accepted. The safety and interests of the people of Jaitapur and the country should be paramount,” it said.