Anti-nuclear energy activists attack PM

The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) Thursday came down heavily on Prime Minster Manmohan Singh for "neglecting the legal interests and nuclear safety of Indians" to help American companies to set up mega nuclear power plants in Gujarat.

In a statement, PMANE, which is fighting against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu, said: "In a characteristically bizarre, brazen and shameless manner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has dodged the established regulations and procedures in setting up new nuclear power plants and used his handmaiden institution, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), to set up 6x1,000 MW nuclear power park at Mithi Virdi in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat."

The PMANE said the mandatory viability analysis has not yet been done before setting up this ultra mega nuclear project. "This shows clearly how much contempt this UPA government has for the safety and security of the people of India and how loyal they are to their foreign masters in upholding their business interests," it alleged.

"If and when an accident occurs at Mithi Virdi in the future, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), the operator of the nuclear power plant, will choose not to exercise the 'right of recourse' clause provided by Section 17 of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act, 2010," it alleged

"The liability clause is there in the law to please us, the people and the Parliament of India, but the NPCIL and the government of India will not utilize it to secure any compensation and let the nuclear Warren Andersons (former chief of Union Carbide) flee the country in special planes. The drama will be called 'Nuclear Bhopal All Over Again!'"

Citing NPCIL's refusal to share the site evaluation report, the safety analysis report and the inter-governmental agreement on liability with Russia which has supplied the KNPP plants, PMANE said the atomic plant operator has gone to the Delhi High Court and obtained a stay order against sharing these reports with the Indian people.