The Maharashtra government will pursue the Jaitapur nuclear power project at any cost. The government will not revise its stand on the project, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Ajit Pawar, said on Friday.

The monetary compensation to be given farmers, who have lost the land to the project, will be much higher than announced earlier, Mr Pawar said during a discussion on the controversial project in the Legislative Council.

Mr Pawar, who also holds the Energy portfolio, said that the project has the support of the major political parties in the State, including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the BJP. Only the Shiv Sena is opposing the project with a political purpose.

All scientific studies have shown that there is no threat to marine and other life in that area. Have Shiv Sena leaders studied the project in detail, he asked.

The Centre and State government has already clarified their stand on the project. Why should Shiv Sena bring politics into the issue, Mr Pawar asked.

Earlier, when projects such as Koyna hydroelectric and Dabhol power projects were announced, similar fears about threat to ecology were voiced by various groups. But today the same projects are being regarded as vital for the development of the State, he said.

“Governments in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are looking forward to having a nuclear project in their States. Does it mean these governments have made a mistake in opting for such project?” Mr Pawar asked.

Vehement opposition to the Jaitapur project only started after the Fukushima accident in Japan. But it must be kept in mind that there is no threat to the Jaitapur site from tsunami waves, as the site is at an elevation of about 25 metres from the sea level and the active seismic fault, which is in the Gulf of Makran, can only generate a three-metre-high tsunami, he said.

> rahulw@thehindu.co.in

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