Stop the dangerous nuclear version of the Enron’s Dhabol fiasco –Ashok Rao
Vinod Kumar Gupta, 07-May-2011

Mynews.in

Saturday May 7, 2011

New Delhi

The engineers of the power sector and the officers of the Central Public Sector in a joint statement has urged the Government to “Stop the dangerous nuclear version of the Enron’s Dhabol fiasco”

K Ashok Rao President, National Confederation of Officers’ Associations has said in a press statement that “when political decisions have already been taken at the highest level , all that the officers can do is sign on the dotted line. Consequently, the French nuclear plant would cost upwards of Rs.22 Crore per MW against its indigenous equivalent nuclear plant at Rs 8 crore per MW

No one can would envisage an almost 200 times increase in nuclear power within 41 years from the present 3.8 Giga watt to 655 Giga watt Such an increase has not been achieved anywhere in the world , said Ashok Rao.

Rao warns that such a large expansion would be impossible without compromising quality and safety.The Prime Minister has agreed to French reactor even without design and safety features being presented and approved by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Further in the case of Jaitapur, where would the manpower be trained when there is no EPR nuclear power plant in operation anywhere in the world, questions Rao.

Drawing a parallel with the Enron’s Dhabol Power plant the statement says, “It is the very same politicians in the Government and the opposition who facilitated ENRON’s Dhabol project and later absolved themselves of any responsibility for the fiasco. They would do the same in the case of Jaitapur nuclear power plant….while the Dhabol power plant left losses of few thousands of crore of rupees, a Jaitapur nuclear power plant will in addition leave behind a few lakh dead, injured and displaced Indians”

The Power Engineers and Officers of the Central Public Sector Undertakings have demanded a judicial enquiry into the loss of thousands of crore of rupees due to the Enron sponsored Dhabol power plant and the summary rejection of the, nationally accepted, Homi Bhabha’s three stage development plan for nuclear power and its substitution with large scale import of high cost, nuclear power plants.