After Land Bill, BJP and Shiv Sena pitted against each other on Jaitapur project

Sena has organised a day long agitation on March 16 against the "monstrous" project

Ruling allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have locked horns over the development of the 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra.

BJP has been supporting the project development citing that the nuclear power is clean while Shiv Sena has stepped up its opposition saying the Centre can shift the “monstrous” project to neighbouring Gujarat. They believe it will have an adverse effect on environment and people living in the vicinity.

Shiv Sena has organised a daylong agitation on March 16 at the Jaitapur nuclear power project site in Ratnagiri district.

The project is being developed by the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL). French major AREVA will initially supply two evolutionary pressurised reactors (EPRs) of 1,650 MW each and subsequently another four of the same capacity. The Shiv Sena had also recently decided to abstain from voting on the land acquisition bill in the Lok Sabha.

“We are opposed to the Jaitapur project. For a few megawatts of power, you cannot inconvenience the entire people of the state. It will destroy the entire Konkan region. If BJP feels it (the project) is so good and precious, they can take it to Gujarat,” Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said during his meeting on Monday with the party ministers and legislators from Maharashtra.

Uddhav went on to add the project cost and the per unit tariff is still not known. However. He said if the project is developed in Gujarat or elsewhere in the country, Maharashtra can purchase the quantum of power that the state requires.

A BJP minister, who did not want to be named, said the party supports the development of Jaitapur project in Maharashtra. He cited the statement made by the Union minister of state Jitendra Singh in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that adequate safety and security applications are being incorporated in the Jaitapur project. There will be a mechanism in place for surveillance and monitoring  radioactivity.

Party MP Kirit Somaiya, who had raised questions in this regard in the Lok Sabha, said that the minister has assured that the Jaitapur project is being established with all safety concerns in mind.

The Jaitapur power project director S Singharoy said at present various pre-project activities are going on at the project site. Besides, NPCIL and AREVA are currently engaged in talks to reach a techno-commercial agreement.