Foreign-funded NGOS try to stall Haryana nuclear plant

The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which won two Assembly seats in Maharashtra and one seat in Bihar in the 21 October elections, has now set its sight on the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections that are likely to be held by December-end. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi is already flooded

Foreign-funded non-government organisations (NGOS) are trying to “sabotage” a nuclear power plant under construction in Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district in Haryana, sources tell The Sunday Guardian. It’s because of the protests that the project, which will generate power once completed, is running late.

The deadline for the “partial” production of power from the atomic power plant was the end of this year, but the constant protests organised by allegedly vested interest groups have impacted the project in a way that power generation may start only by 2025.

Anti-nuclear activists have been asking questions pertaining to the availability of water at the Gorakhpur plant and security aspects in case an accident occurs. They say that the only source of water in the area is a canal and that using water from the canal will lead to low availability of water for farmers in the region.

However, experts and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), the implementing authority for nuclear plants in the country, have already said that such questions are baseless.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior NPCIL official told The Sunday Guardian: “With regard to the Haryana nuclear power project, a team from the NPCIL had answered all the questions that were raised by the NGOS. The questions related to displacement of residents from the area, employment and hot water disposal have already been addressed, but the NGOS are posing a new question every day and those certainly cannot be answered right away.”

“Also, digging a borehole of 200 metre depth for disposal of hot water, or construction of pond for waste management, is a decision taken by the scientists; the NPCIL ensures 100% security. These