The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has abandoned its plan to set up a 6000 MW nuclear power plant at Chhaya-Mithivirdi village of Bhavanagar district in Gujarat.
The Pune bench of NGT was hearing a petition challenging the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance granted to NPCIL by the Union Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) for the project.
The proposed project will be shifted to Kavvada, Andhra Pradesh ‘on account of delay in land acquisition at Chhaya-Mithivirdi site’.
Following the N-Deal between India and United States during the tenure of previous UPA-II Government, the NPCIL had proposed an N-power project in Chhaya-Mithivirdi village.
The project authorities had proposed to acquire 777 hectares of land from around 340 agricultural land owners of Bhavnagar district.
However, the proposed project witnessed stiff opposition from the local villagers who were not ready to give up their fertile agriculture land for the same.
The plant was to be set up by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) with technical support from Toshiba Corp’s Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC), which will build six nuclear reactors at the new site.
India has planned to increase its nuclear power generation capacity from the existing 6,780 MW to 63,000 MW by 2032.