Emerging from the hour-long first round of talks held at the collectorate between the 15-member experts committee set up by the centre and six-member state panel, two members of the movement described the talks as satisfactory. The movement also presented a memorandum containing 50 questions and seeking various documents relating to the site selection and evaluation report and environmental safety analysis, M Pushparayan and Jesuraj told the media.
They said talks could not be started without any document and demanded that they be given the reports besides replies to their questionnaire. They demanded a white paper saying officials were creating a scare among the people by stating that continued halt of the work would affect the plant while former president A P J Abdul Kalam after his visit to KNPP vouched for its safety.
Contradictory opinions were being expressed by the experts about the safety of the plant. "It is the government's duty to clarify all this... Our immediate request is that some sort of fear is in the minds of the people and it should be cleared," Pushparayan said.
The talks were held two days after the visit of Kalam when he suggested a Rs 200 crore 10-point action plan for the development of the area and asked officials to allay the fears of the people, who are demanding scrapping of the project. The Centre set up the panel after a delegation of the anti-KNPP movement leaders met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi last month.
The Rs 13,600 crore project, whose first unit (1000 MW) was scheduled to be commissioned in December, has run into trouble following protests from locals who are demanding that it be scrapped on grounds of safety in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March.
Pushparayan also pointed out to the resolution adopted by the state cabinet on September 22 last urging the prime minister to order suspension of the work at the plant till the people's concerns were addressed.
"The chief minister is not a naive person. She would have consulted the experts in the field before passing such a resolution," he said adding the resolution should be honoured.
The movement leaders said they also suggested to the central government committee members to directly hold talks with the people living in the 30-km radius of the plant and clear all their fears. However, the committee members turned it down saying it was not possible to hold talks with such a large number of people following which the two asked them to engage in dialogue with the 21-member expert panel set up by the movement.
They also said tripartite talks could be held with people and assured to give all protection to the committee members.
Pushparayan and Jesuraj said they also sought to know the understanding reached between India and Russia on the issue of compensation in the event of an accident at the site. "We should not be left in the lurch like the Bhopal gas victims," another leader of the movement said.
