[sacw] S A A N Post | 7 June 2000

[Harsh Kapoor]

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South Asians Against Nukes Post
7 June 2000
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#1. India: DPR on Kudankulam project next year
#2. Public Discussion: Bangalore Platform Against Nuclear Weaponisation
#3. India: Where is new Nuclear Plant goint to be built, Bengal or Andhra ?
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#1.

Business Line
June 2, 2000

INDIA: DPR ON KUDANKULAM PROJECT NEXT YEAR

NEW DELHI, June 1: THE Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Indo-Russian
joint venture nuclear power project at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu would be
ready by October 2001.

Preliminary works at the site of the 2x1000 MW light water reactors of the
Russian VVER type has got under way. The DPR got under way in April 1999,
after a contract was signed between the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC)
and Atomstroyexport of Moscow during July 1998.

Under the DPR contract, around 25 premier design organisations and
institutes of the Russian federation are involved in the preparation of
documents covering preliminary plant design, project management, quality
assurance, and project cost and finance.

The techno-commercial offer for implementation phase of the project, which
would take 60-72 months, would be submitted after approval of the DPR,
according to the annual report 1999- 200 of the Department of Atomic
Energy (DAE).

The other major projects under implementation by the NPC are the 2x500 MW
plants at Tarapur and 2x220 MW units at Kaiga in Karnataka and another two
units at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS).

The pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) of 500 MW at Tarapur are based
on a complete indigenous design. The critical components for the reactors
have already been procured by NPC. They are expected to go critical by
October 2005 and July 2006 respectively.

NPC, which has 10 operating nuclear power plants, generated 11,950 million
units of electricity during 1999-2000 at a capacity factor of nearly 80
per cent, an increase from 75 per cent the previous year.

It has ended the year with a net profit of Rs. 450 crores (provisional).

The company also paid a maiden dividend of Rs. 50.44 crores to the
Government earlier in the year. After appraising the performance, Crisil
has upgraded the rating of NPC from A+ to 'AA'.

- Our Bureau

Copyright (C) 2000 Kasturi & Sons Ltd (KSL); Source: World Reporter
(TM) - Asia Intelligence Wire
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#2.

BANGALORE PLATFORM AGAINST NUCLEAR WEAPONISATION

Do you think nuclear weapons are moral? Do you
know that they involve extreme social and economic
cost? If they enhance our security, why did Kargil
happen? Concerned citizens all over India have
protested and continue to protest against nuclear
weaponisation. A roll-back is possible, and we must
urge our government to pursue this path. To discuss
issues of nuclear weaponisation, and to formally
launch the Bangalore Platform, we invite you to a
public meeting.

Programme:

* Songs by Bharath Gyan Vigyan Samiti

* Brief addresses by
H.S. Doraiswamy (Freedom Fighter, Gandhi Peace
Centre)
Prof. Amulya Reddy (Scientist, Publicist)
Dr. G. Ramakrishna (Academician and Social Activist)
Chaired by Sandhya Rao (H.H.S. Feminist & Legal
Activist)

* Launch of signature campaign by Dr. Ramchandra
Guha (author and environmentalist)

* Skit by Manasa group

Date: 10th June 2000 (Saturday)
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue: Institute of Agricultural Technologists,
Miller Tank Bed, Queens Road ,
Bangalore 560052

Be Active! Not Radioactive!

CONTACT:
CED admin@i... Ph: 5543397 or ISANW
pativish@h... Ph: 5554246/8483002 (extn. 442)

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#3.

The Telegraph
7 June 2000

NAIDU POWERS INTO NUCLEAR RACE=20
=20
=46ROM DIPTOSH MAJUMDAR
=20
New Delhi, June 6=20
Delhi is having second thoughts about awarding a nuclear power plant to
the eastern region, not to speak of West Bengal, with N. Chandrababu
Naidu [The chief minister of the State of Andhra Pradesh] staking claim.
After their meeting with Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee on April 19,
veteran CPM parliamentarians, Radhika Ranjan Pramanick and Basudeb
Acharya, were confident Bengal was the next destination of the
cash-starved Nuclear Power Corporation.

It doesn't seem that simple any more with the entry of Naidu, even
though the corporation is going ahead with its paperwork on sites in
Bengal. Already, 11 sites have been shortlisted. One of them is in
Darjeeling, one in Purulia and the rest in South and North 24-Parganas.
South 24-Parganas is important because the most enthusiastic of all MPs
about the project is Pramanick, elected several times from his
constituency near the Sunderbans.

A corporation spokesperson in Mumbai said they have asked Bengal to
prune the shortlist. They have sent a questionnaire to the Bengal
government which includes queries like whether the site falls within the
seismic zone, whether water is available or whether the site faces any
security threats.

Viewed from this angle, the Purulia site is considered suitable. The
spokesperson said there is a particular spot about 15 to 20 km away from
the site mentioned by the Bengal experts which is "quite good". "It has
access to Damodar water," he explained. Darjeeling has been ruled out
because it falls within a seismic zone.

The government has yet to receive feedback from other eastern states
like Orissa and Bihar which were also asked to prepare a list of sites.

The corporation may be enthusiastic but the department of atomic energy
sounds quite remote about the idea of setting up a nuclear power plant
in Bengal. Indications that Naidu is exerting pressure on the Union
government are coming out of the department. One of his initial
suggestions for a particular site has been overruled because of its
proximity to a tiger reserve. But Naidu is choosing other sites.

Given the fact that nuclear power plants are expensive, the government
would have to prioritise once it chooses a few sites across the country.
In the current balance of power, Naidu's state will weigh more than a
Left-run or even a Mamata Banerjee-ruled Bengal. Naidu brings to
Vajpayee's alliance 29 MPs, compared with Mamata's seven, and has
already leveraged this clout to extract various concessions from Delhi.

Atomic energy department sources said the Centre holds the view that
nuclear power plants should come up only at sites far away from coal
pitheads, which runs contrary to the opinion of the corporation. It
believes every state should have an optimal mix of nuclear, thermal and
hydel power. The department's view that states with coal pitheads within
1,000 km should opt for thermal power does not fit in with the Kyoto
protocol, to which India is a signatory. For environmental reasons, the
protocol discourages thermal power.

Pramanick insists that the Kyoto protocol has come almost simultaneously
with the Left's revision of stand on nuclear power. "The Left no longer
has any objections," he said.

In the circumstances, the department says that though the government is
committed to creating an additional 20,000 mw of nuclear power by 2020,
resources are hard to come by.