NPCIL's Nuclear Power Plant Proposals Rejected as Documentation Falls Short

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The applications for four new nuclear power plants proposed by India's state-owned nuclear power firm Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) (Mumbai) were recently rejected by the central government's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) (New Delhi). The applications were in relation to mandatory environmental clearances. The NPCIL proposed to set up a 2,800-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant at Fatehabad in Haryana; a 1,400-MW plant at Mandla in Madhya Pradesh; a 6,000-MW plant at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh; and a 6,000-MW plant at Bhavnagar in Gujarat. NPCIL planned to set up the plants in three years from the time of commencement of construction. NPCIL carries with it the credit of having set up nuclear power plants in a record 60 months at the most, making it the shortest execution period worldwide.

The Srikakulam and Bhavnagar projects were to be set up in three stages, each with a 2,000-MW capacity. NPCIL also had put forward a proposal for the construction of a jetty at each of these project sites to ensure timely access to heavy equipment via the sea route. In both cases, there were considerable protests from the local villagers about their personal safety and the environmental balance in the region. The Bhavnagar project was to have six 1,000-MW reactors, and construction of the first reactor was to begin in 2012.

NPCIL has received an in-principle approval from the central government for setting up the nuclear power plants at Fatehabad in two phases. The pre-project works were to be completed by the beginning of 2012, and the construction of the first two reactors by March of the same year. For the Mandla project, NPCIL elected the state-owned Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited (MPPGCL) (Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh) as its nodal agency to help facilitate the execution of the project. However, as of June 15 this year, the MoEF rejected the very first phase of applications.

The statutory expert appraisal committee of the ministry asserted that documentations for all four sets of applications have fallen short on several counts. These applications were filed by the company to secure what is known as "terms of reference." Based on the terms, an environmental impact study can be conducted.

The "terms of reference" is the preliminary stage of environmental clearance. It is at this stage that the project developer submits basic information about the project details, such as land use and a checklist of possible issues to be addressed. When the environmental impact study is completed, it forms the basis of a study and public hearing that results in the acceptance or rejection of the project proposal. In the case of the four projects, the shoddily compiled documents made rejection inevitable, reports say.

At present, NPCIL has been asked to submit the completed documents once again if they hope to secure the necessary terms of reference. As long as they comply with this, the stall in the projects can be considered a mere hiccup. Of course, the actual evaluation of the worthiness of the project can be ascertained only after the environmental impact study and public hearing reports have been submitted.

"The government system--and I am talking about environment and forest clearance mechanism--is quite proper and straightforward," Chandra Bhusban, Associate Director, Centre for Science and Environment (New Delhi), told Industrial Info Resources (IIR). "This is the system that all other industrial projects have to follow. The problem is that in the name of security, a lot of critical information required for environmental assessment of the nuclear power projects is not provided by the project proponents. This is the biggest bottleneck in the assessment process. Unless the appraisal committee is satisfied, the project clearance cannot be granted; after all, nuclear plants have huge health, safety and environmental issues to deal with."

Bhusban added that project proponents should retain reputed institutions to undertake the detailed environmental impact study exercises and address all the issues. "They should not consider the environmental impact study as a regulatory formality; rather, it should be looked upon as an integral part of the project design and management," Bhusban told IIR.

Government roadblocks aside, nuclear power proponents also have to face a number of issues at ground level. An example would be the recent instance when NPCIL officials were formidably surrounded by the locals at Bhavnagar during a soil testing recovery task. Officials had no choice but to leave the place empty-handed. Besides this, the MoEF recently made a presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science Technology, Environment and Forests in which it asked for an expansion on the concept of environmental damage.

These issues apart, there have been doubts cast on the concept of environmental impact studies being conducted countrywide, thanks to the recent spate of project cancellations. The Quality Council of India (QCI) (New Delhi), along with the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) (New Delhi), announced an accreditation program for environmental impact study consultant organizations. However, the process has now been delayed and will come into effect in January next year. Following this, the MoEF will accept environmental impact studies conducted only by accredited organizations.

The QCI feels that environmental impact studies today are unprofessional and not up to standard. In fact, they still have trouble identifying the number of organizations involved in the studies. Baseline parameters for evaluation have doubled making the process more expensive. After the recession, promoters of a project tend to invest or declare on the basis of small holdings in an effort to save on the cost of an environmental impact study. Current rules dictate that a project smaller than 20,000 square meters does not require study.

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