Buddha wants firm stand from Centre on Haripur nuke power venture

KOLKATA: Amidst increasing resistance from Trinamool Congress activists, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has urged the Centre to take a stronger stand if the mega Haripur nuke power venture in the state is to see the light of day. This was communicated to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman and the secretary to the department of atomic energy, Mr Srikumar Banerjee, at a meeting between the two on Friday.

It is learnt that Mr Bhattacharjee, at the meeting, expressed his inability to help jump start the project because of the opposition. A source close to the development said that Bhattacharjee wants a firm stand from the Centre to set up the project.

Nevertheless, a senior NPCIL official, who was also present at the meeting, said: "We are all set to offer a relief and rehabilitation package that will not leave a single stakeholder unhappy. Additionally, we have also cut down on the land requirement. It has now been brought down to 650 hectares from the earlier area of 1,100 hectares. We are keen on sorting out the present impasse at Haripur with all parties concerned and discuss the R&R (Relief & Rehabilation) package."

Later on Friday, Mr Srikumar Banerjee said: "Now that the Haripur site has been cleared, we will need to do an environment impact assessment followed by a geo-technical survey which is expected to take about 18 months. Following the completion of the study, construction of two 1000 mw units will take around six years to commission."
Nevertheless, it is learnt that NPCIL has internally readied an alternative R&R plan. The plan includes paying any compensation amount as requested by the state government to project affected people. NPCIL will also request the state to offer alternate plots to land losers and the nuclear power generating company has decided to bear the expenses of building new housing on these plots.

The management of NPCIL will also make sure through various means that the earnings of these affected people will rise or at least remains as it is now. Most of the area NPCIL intends to acquire is marshy saltwater which the locals use for aquaculture. Agriculture land constitutes a very small part of the total area. In any case, we will make sure that the financial condition of all project affected families improve.

Despite all the goodies being offered by NPCIL, its management cannot start work at Haripur since it has been facing stiff resistance from the local population there. "Despite having received environmental clearance for starting environment impact assessment, we cannot initiate work nor can we undertake a fresh survey of the land which is required before the project work starts. This has also prevented making any assessment of the number of families that may get affected," the senior NPCIL official.