By IANS,
Ratnagiri (Maharashtra): The National Green Tribunal Thursday sought a response from three government agencies on an NGO’s plea challenging the environmental clearance given to the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) here, a lawyer said.
Janahit Seva Samiti moved the tribunal, set up by the central government to expedite environment-related cases, on behalf of the residents of villages opposed to the project.
“Tribunal chairperson L.S. Panta and expert member Vijai Sharma heard the plea by the NGO and sought responses from the Union of India, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. by November first week,” said Ritwick Dutta, the NGO’s lawyer.
The NGO is based in Madban village of Ratnagiri district where JNPP is coming up.
Last December, the Jaitapur project got a green nod with 35 riders. While granting the clearance, the ministry of environment and forests relied heavily on the biodiversity report prepared by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) as against the environment impact assessment (EIA) report prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.