What must be more discomforting for the prime minister and the Maharashtra government is the minister's call for a relook at the controversial Jaitapur nuclear park - a landmark project for the Centre and the state - and his suggestion that the ruling side has a 'dogmatic' approach over it.
"Jaitapur will have 10,000 MW capacity. Is it wise? The negative public perceptions at Jaitapur have been caused, in large measure, because of this capacity...I am well aware of the technical and economic advantages of a nuclear park but when there is a risk perception, we should, in my view, not be dogmatic," the minister said in his letter to the prime minister. While agreeing with the government's position that sites are limited, the minister said the government should take a fresh look at the concept of setting up giant capacities in one location like at Fukushima. This intervention will come as a shot in the arm for those protesting against the building of a nuclear power park in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats.
Meanwhile, former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said: "N-parks are not a new idea. What is required is to ensure that various units do not share common safety systems and there is a robust sitting process so that we avoid possibility of common cause failures. We have to ensure that a site doesn't house a project beyond its carrying capacity." Read the full report here.
Source: Urmi A Goswami, ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
