Ramesh ready to discuss Jaitapur project with critics

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said though the government was ready to discussthe contentious Jaitapur nuclear power project with its
critics, it cannot change the mindset of those opposing it on "ideological grounds".

He also said he should not be dubbed a "criminal" in the context of the project, which has become a flash point between the government and the locals, as his role was limited only to giving environmental clearance.

Ramesh, who faced protests from students while on his way to Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) here for a convocation function and was handed over anti-nuclear literature, told reporters that the attitude of the country's
social science fraternity was "biased" against economic growth and technology.
   
"Your perspective should be free from prejudices, if not passions. Please do not become vociferous techno-phobes or growth sceptics," he advised the graduating students.

Asserting that the government was taking the right steps to assuage concerns regarding the nuclear sector, he said an independent regulatory authority would be established through an act of Parliament.

Allaying fears of destruction at the Jaitapur project site in the event of a natural disaster, as in case of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the minister said nuclear power was one of the conventional energy sources needed by the country to achieve a growth rate of 9% per annum.

"In the foreseeable future, I don't see an alternative to coal, hydel, nuclear and gas-based power. For the next 20 years, if India has to maintain a growth of 8 to 9%, we need electricity," Ramesh told reporters.

He said it was time for the country to look at the limits to growth not just from a macroeconomic point of view but also from an ecological point of view.

The proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant in coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra is facing protests from those claiming that the government was not clear on issues like protection of biodiversity of Konkan, seismic activities
in Jaitapur area, affordability of the entire project and nuclear crisis management.

One person was killed in police firing as protests by 600-700 locals against the project turned violent on April 18 with agitators setting ablaze a police station.

On the global emission-cutting negotiations, Ramesh reiterated India's stance and said, "We simply cannot afford absolute cuts in emission levels at this juncture of our development."

"Equity" should be one of the most basic elements of the architecture of any international agreement, he added.