Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 15 (IANS) The controversial 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra will be implemented despite all hurdles, union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Friday.

He said that whatever be the opposition, the government would go ahead with the JNPP, taking into consideration all aspects of environment and security norms.

Ramesh was speaking at a press conference here Friday afternoon where he addressed several issues concerning his ministry and Maharashtra.

Asked whether he would take note of the villagers’ opposition to the JNPP, as he had done in the case of POSCO in Orissa, Ramesh said he had not received any memorandum from the people of Ratnagiri.

“However, as it does not fall under the purview of the MoEF, the villagers’ objections would not be binding on us,” Ramesh said.

To a question, Ramesh also reiterated that he had suggested to the central government that the security systems of all the six reactors at the JNPP should not be interlinked.

“They must be independent of each other to avoid a situation like the recent nuclear disaster in Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan,” Ramesh explained.

The JNPP, coming up in collaboration with French company Areva, has been strongly opposed by the local population as well as major opposition parties like the Shiv Sena and many non-government organisations.