Land trouble may trip N-power in Gujarat

Vashram Patel, a farmer in the Jasapara village in Gujarat, says it is better to "fight and die" on his land rather than move to another place.

"Most of us are illiterate and we have done nothing except farming for generations now. Where will we go?" Patel asks, signalling the beginning of yet another land acquisition problem in India.

Patel's angst may spell trouble for Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) which is planning to set up a 6,000 Mw nuclear power project in the area.

NPC is facing protests from farmers who are refusing to make way for the Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) project, the first major initiative after the civilian nuclear agreement between India and the US.

Villagers at Jasapara and 30 other nearby villages have collectively signed a petition and informed the authorities about their stand.

About 1,000 hectare of land has been surveyed by government officials in the recent past. Though the name given to the project is Mithi Virdi Atomic Power Project, the area identified is about two km away from Mithi Virdi and is called Jasapara.

Apart from Mithi Virdi, about half-a-dozen other locations, including a couple of locations in and around Bhavnagar were also surveyed by NPCIL officials.

"All activities 10 to 15 km near the plant will come to a halt if the power plant comes up," says Arun Dave of Lok Bharati Sanstha, which has joined the resistance against the power plant.

Anti-nuclear activists have also formed a group called the Atomic Energy Study Group and have been distributing pamphlets and showing films about the accidents of nuclear plants in places like Chernobyl.

The initiative has left a deep impression on villagers like Arvindsinh Gohil, who has mango orchards in the region. "We have seen how destructive the plant can be in case of any leakage. Also, we do not know what will happen to the waste generated from here. We do not know much about a nuclear plant but we cannot lose our land, which is our only source of livelihood," Gohil says.

The area is known for its Sosiya variety of mangoes and also produces cotton, groundnut, cheeku, bajra and onion.

The farmers also plan to visit the Kakrapar nuclear power plant near Surat shortly to see the impact of the project in nearby areas.

A senior Central minister privy to the development recently told reporters here that the government had given an in-principle approval for setting up six power plants of 1,000 Mw each near Mithi Virdi.

Union Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki declined to comment on the controversy.

Mithi Virdi was identified as one of four greenfield port locations under the Gujarat Maritime Board's BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) Policy to be developed by the private sector. "Mithi Virdi is a fairweather port and no private player had shown interest in developing the port for over a decade for a variety of reason," said sources privy to the development.