AHMEDABAD: Nearly six years after it was announced, the 6,000 MW nuclear power plant at Mithivirdi, a coastal hamlet some 40 km from Bhavnagar, is close to getting the crucial coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) clearance.

The project has been recommended for the clearance by the expert appraisal committee of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India, which is executing the project, has already moved to get the environmental clearance from MoEF.

The project was announced following the signing of the India-US civil nuclear deal in 2008. Interestingly, the recommendation for CRZ clearance comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama finalizing the civilian nuclear deal during the latter’s visit last month.

However, the inhabitants of the villages around Mithivirdi have strongly opposed the project and say that they will not give their land at any cost. Sarpanch of Jaspara, Shaktisinh Gohil, who is leading the agitation, said, “We will oppose the nuclear plant till the end. No matter what the compensation package the state government decides, we are not willing to sell our fertile land at any cost.”

The proposed plant with six light water reactors of 1000 MW capacity each will be spread across 777 hectares. Out of this, 603 hectares is agricultural land. The project will be executed in three stages with 2000 MW capacity addition at each stage. The first stage is proposed to be complete in 2019-20, the second by 2021-22 and third by 2023-24.

“The process of land acquisition has not started. Our application to the Bhavnagar collector for land is pending,” said sources in NPCIL.

