"It is the NPCIL and the Department of Atomic Energy ( DAE) which are putting up the nuclear plant, while the land is being acquired by the state government. It is not the environment and forest ministry that is putting up the Jaitapur plant," Ramesh told reporters on Thursday, in an attempt to distance himself from the row.
The minister had on Wednesday faced stiff protests as he attended a convocation ceremony at Mumbai's Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). A section of students boycotted him for granting environmental clearance to the plant.
Ramesh on Thursday argued that his ministry gave clearance to the project last year only after taking into consideration various environmental safeguards. This was in contrast to one of his recent statements. Ramesh had recently confessed in public that he was "forced" to condone environmental violations while clearing certain projects. Read the full report here.
Source: Sangeeth Sebastian, Business Today, New Delhi.
