India's ambitious plan of expanding its nuclear power production capacity in the aftermath of the historic nuclear deal with the United States has run into its first hurdle. Responding to a petition by villagers opposed to a nuclear power plant in Maharashtra's Jaitapur, the Bombay High Court has stayed the acquisition of land for the project.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has proposed building two 1,650-MW plants at the site, about 300 km south of Mumbai, and aims to expand the project into a nuclear power park producing 10,000 MW.

It is the first new site chosen to build civilian nuclear plants with foreign collaboration after the landmark deal was signed between New Delhi and Washington. NPCIL has contracted France’s Areva for the reactors, each estimated to cost between $5.2 and 7.8 billion.

Some villagers in the hamlets around Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district have, however, been opposed to the project saying that the radiation from the plant would cause health problems and hurt future generations and also hit livelihood.

The Bombay High Court stay order came in the last week of June, in response to a petition by Dr Bhikaji Waghdhare, who hails from Madban village in the area, and four others. The petition contends that the nuclear plant would harm the sensitive Konkan ecology and could also result in accidents as the area falls under seismic zone 4. The court has asked NPCIL to file an affidavit and set the next hearing for July 10.

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