Tribals from 500 MP villages unite against Chutka N-plant

UP IN ARMS Protesters remain wary of radiation leak, say project would put their lives at risk BHOPAL:

Tribals and villagers in 575 villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district are up in arms against the proposed nuclear power plant at Chutka.

On Monday, Gandhi Jayanti, the protesters, under the aegis of Chutka Parmanu Sangarsh Samiti (CPSS), held a rally in one of the villages.

CPSS will hold a series of rallies and protests till the first week of December to oppose the project, which they say could endanger the lives of the people in case of a mishap or a radiation leak.

In 2015, the state cabinet had approved allotment of 41 acres of land for the Chutka project. The 1,400 MW project is being set up by Nuclear Power Corporation of India in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Company.

About 400-600 families will be displaced by the project. In July this year, tribals refused to allow drilling for soil samples for the proposed nuclear power plant.

Chutka Parmanu Sangarsh Samiti secretary Navrattan Dubey told Hindustan Times tribals in 575 villages were against the project. The protesters are mostly tribals from villages within 30 km perimeter of the nuclear power plant in Mandla, Jabalpur and Seoni districts.

“We are starting series of protest rallies from today in the 500plus villages in the three districts. The rallies will continue till December,” he said.

Dubey said people of the four villages in Mandla district, predominantly tribals, have been protesting against the project since it was cleared by Centre in 2009.

“Most of the project-affected people are displaced by the Bargi Dam in 1984,” he said, adding that the gram sabhas of three of the four affected villages have given consent for the project.

“...the gram sabha of Kunda village has not given its approval. The government has also provided ₹6 lakh compensation per family to nearly 600 families. The state government wants to rehabilitate us at Potla, 17-18 km from Chutka,” the CPSS secretary said.

The plant’s construction has been shrouded in controversy with even environmentalists questioning the project’s utility.

Environmental expert Soumya Dutta had earlier old Hindustan Times that there was no rationale for the proposed nuclear power plant as Madhya Pradesh was already a power surplus state.

“Given the scenario of power generation and power demand at present, there is no need for nuclear power plant in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, if a village Gram Sabha (of Kunda) has not approved the project, the government has to constitutionally accept it. The concerns of the villagers are not being addressed…” the environmentalist had said.

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