Nuclear Power or Not? Leaders Fight it Out

Chandigarh, Jul 20 (IANS): Leaders of all political hues in Haryana are fighting a nuclear war these days. The leaders have gone ballistic with their positioning over the issue of setting up a nuclear power plant in southwest Haryana.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government is trying its best to persuade farmers, who are agitating against a nuclear plant in Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district. The farmers have found backing in opposition parties like the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that are also opposed to the setting up of the plant.

In the past week, the Hooda government has organised open sessions for the public to bring forward their objections and get responses from scientists and experts about the project.

The government is faced with objections on two fronts. First is the opposition by a section of farmers who do not want to give up their agricultural land which is set to be acquired for the nuclear plant. The government has already set the process for land acquisition into motion.

Second, there is basic opposition to the setting up of the plant itself owing to safety concerns after the nuclear plant disaster in Japan's Fukushima in March 2011.

The state government proposes to acquire over 1,500 acres of land for the nuclear power plant, having four units of 700 MW capacity each, to be set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The plant will generate electricity for meeting the growing power needs in the state.