CANACONA: Despite stiff opposition from locals and environmentalists, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has granted environmental clearance (EC) to set up two additional reactors at the nuclear power station at Kaiga, Karwar.
There already exist four reactors at the station which produce 220 MW each and the additional two units are supposed to produce 700 MW each.
In a public hearing meeting, in December last, the villagers and the environmentalists had opposed the expansion plans citing reasons such as destruction of forest, wildlife and pollution in the plant vicinity.
Considering the ever increasing demand for more power, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) director B C Pathak had sent a proposal to the Centre for expansion o the nuclear plant.
In its meeting on May 24, the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) had approved the expansion plan albeit with 17 specific and 19 general conditions.
MoEF additional director Dr Shruthi Rai Bharadwaj in letter to the NPCIL chief on September 3, informed about the clearance issued to the expansion plan, which has irked the locals as well as environmentalists too.
The letter states that most villagers are in favour of expansion as they believe that new units will generate more employment and improve local infrastructure while a few have expressed fear that expansion would increase pollution and thereby decrease agricultural productivity. The Economic Advisory Council has taken note of these issues.
Earlier, the Forest Department gave its nod to cut over 8,700 trees on 120 hectares for project expansion. Compensatory afforestation has been recommended by the authorities in an area of 732 hectares in Chamarajnagar and Mandya to compensate tree loss in the area, it is stated.
As per one of the pre-conditions laid down by the EAC, half of the power generated by the new units should be supplied to Karnataka.
Speaking to Herald, environmentalist Anant Hegde Ashisara from Uttar Kannada alleged that the MoEFCC has not considered the
opinion expressed by the greens and locals while giving its nod for the plant expansion plan.
“In the public hearing held in December, which was chaired by deputy commissioner, the locals and the environmentalists had severely opposed the proposed expansion of Kaiga nuclear plant” alleged Ashisara of Vrikshalaksha Andolan.
“We are opposing the expansion of the Kaiga nuclear power plant as experts have opined that there is radioactive pollution, which has led to 300 per cent increase in cancer-related cases in the vicinity of the plant,” he claimed.
