Centre turns down protesters’ plea for White Paper

The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) has warned that its anti-nuke protestors would lay siege to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project site if the Centre commissions the first two reactors in “haste and secrecy”. A statement from PMANE said the official machinery, which had imposed artificial power cuts in the area with the ulterior motive of commissioning KKNPP early, had also filed hundreds of cases against people who were resorting to non-violent agitation against the upcoming nuclear complex.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has stepped up efforts to pursue a “develop-educate-regulate” approach to spread awareness among public and for enforcement of regulatory requirements.

An AERB official told Business Standard: “AERB, which is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and enforcing nuclear and radiation safety regulations in the country, has the mandate to keep the public informed on radiation and nuclear safety related matters. Public outreach is an essential element to build long-lasting trust and confidence with media and public.”

Engineers India Ltd has completed a preliminary report for the environmental impact assessment for Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd’s (NPCIL) proposed 6x1,000-megawatt (Mw) project at Mithivirdi, Gujarat.

US nuclear reactor supplier Westinghouse Electric Co has signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL, agreeing to negotiate an early works agreement for setting up six AP1000 units at Mithivirdi. The AP1000 is a two-loop pressurised water reactor sold by Westinghouse. “This is a draft EIA report, which will be further scrutinised,” NPCIL Chairman and Managing Director K C Purohit told Business Standard.

NEW DELHI: Seeking to draw the line on litigation against power projects, the Supreme Court expressed unhappiness over resulting delays and cost escalations while dismissing a plea challenging a hydro-electric project on the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand.

The court observed that it is ironical that while power projects face opposition from the moment they appear on a drawing board, every citizen wants uninterrupted power supply.

The National Fishermen Forum (NFF) on Sunday decided to observe Monday as the National Day of Protest against the commissioning of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.

A resolution adopted at the general body of the forum said that the commissioning of the project would ruin the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen in southern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. Several cases had been filed against the fishermen who held peaceful agitations. The Tamil Nadu government should immediately withdraw the cases and arrest warrants against those protesting against the nuclear project.

Authorities want systems to work “exactly textbook like” before plant is commissioned

There was no major issue behind the delay in the commissioning of the 2000 MW nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission R.K. Sinha told a group of reporters here. Dr. Sinha said that since it was the first reactor of its kind to be constructed in India, the authorities wanted the systems worked “exactly textbook like” before the commissioning of the plant. This was the main reason for the delay.

Stating that the country was on the threshold of a new milestone in its quest for civil nuclear energy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced that the first nuclear reactor with Russian collaboration at Kudankulam would start operating soon with the second reactor to follow later in the current year.

''As we pursue our national growth objectives to meet the rising aspirations of our people, the supply of affordable clean energy will be one of our foremost national challenges and a key priority for our government. Nuclear energy will remain an essential and increasingly important element of our energy mix. We are in the process of expanding our indigenous nuclear power programme,'' he said on the occasion of Department of Atomic Energy's Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2011 here.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said nuclear power was an essential component of India's energy mix and he will ensure that the safety and livelihoods of people are not jeopardised in its pursuit.

"We will ensure that the safety and livelihoods of people are not jeopardised in our pursuit of nuclear power," Singh said at a function to confer lifetime achievement awards on four nuclear scientists. Noting that the 2011 Fukushima incident had raised "justifiable" concerns on atomic energy, Singh said, "Even as we implement our power programme, we will continue to ensure that nuclear power remains wholly safe."

With India’s nuclear partners expressing dissatisfaction with the country's civil nuclear law, the government is considering raising the cost of reactors so as to cover the liabilities of the operators as well as the suppliers to keep its ambitious civil nuclear energy programme on the track.

Shortly after India got a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) in September 2008 to undertake nuclear commerce, it struck high-ticket nuclear deals with the US, France and Russia. However, the nuclear cooperation with these countries has not made much headway because of the concerns expressed by them over the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Law which was passed by Parliament in 2010.

Every time people lose faith in the political establishment, urban middle classes embrace fascism and the poor take up arms against the state

The last image of 2012 is that of protesters storming central Delhi, outraged at the brutal rape of a young girl and the culture of violence against women. This outburst by the educated middle class, many of them young women, was spontaneous as much as it was leaderless. But as we move into the next year, we need to think about the government’s response to this protest and other demonstrations. We need to understand if the Indian state has any clue about what is going on under its nose — and feet.