Cess mess at Tarapur plant

maharashtra Pollution Control Board (mpcb) has become India's first pollution control board (pcb) to serve a show cause notice to a nuclear power plant for violating environmental laws. On September 16, 2005, mpcb member secretary D B Boralkar served a 15-day notice to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (npcil), a Government of India enterprise that owns Tarapur Atomic Power Project (tapp)-3&4, located in Thane district.

" npcil has been served notice under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, for violating two environmental laws. It commissioned its tapp -4 unit without obtaining mpcb's 'consent to operate (cto)' , as mandated under the 1974 Act. It also failed to pay Rs 32.67 crore as water cess to mpcb, as per the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977. This amount is due since 1983, when tapp -1&2 started functioning. If npcil fails to pay within 15 days, on the very 16th day we will file a case against it in the Thane court," warns Boralkar. The Rs 32.67 crore is minus the interest charge, which would be 24 per cent of the total due amount, he adds.

Not above the law On December 29, 2004, mpcb gave npcil the 'consent to establish' tapp-3&4 on condition it will pay the outstanding water cess under the 1977 Act. On May 4, 2005, npcil approached mpcb seeking cto, which was refused vide a letter dated August 23, 2005, on grounds of non-payment of water cess for tapp-1&2 . npcil replied on September 1, 2005, arguing that its request was for cto for tapp-3&4 and "has nothing to do with the payment of outstanding cess amount as communicated...". Lashes out Boralkar, "How can npcil wash its hands off tapp -1&2, when it owns and runs all the four units...Non-payment of water cess by npcil's nuclear plants...extends throughout Indian states... npcil needs to know it is not above the law." Down To Earth contacted other pcb s to verify the charge. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials of Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu pcb s admitted that Rajasthan Atomic Power Station and Madras Atomic Power Station don't pay any water cess.

NPCIL's case weak npcil, which owns all the nuclear power plants in the country, questions mpcb's understanding of the 1977 Act. "Pre-2003, nuclear power plants were not covered under Schedule i of the Act. An amendment...called The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess (Amendment) Act 2003...exempted hydel power plants from the purview of the Act on the understanding that they do not cause any water pollution. On similar basis, npcil has written to the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef) seeking exemption for nuclear power plants...," reasons S N Ahmad, executive director, corporate services, npcil, Mumbai. About tapp-4, Ahmad claims the 1974 Act clearly says "the consent...shall...be deemed to have been given unconditionally on the expiry of a period of four months of the making of an application." " mpcb received our application on May 4, 2005, and tapp-4 went commercial only on September 12, 2005...we have not violated any law...We are in the process of approaching mpcb to resolve the matter amicably," he adds.

But Boralkar disagrees. The cooling water discharge (trade effluent) of Tarapur nuclear plant alone is 3,000 million litres daily (mld) which is more than the sewage from the entire Mumbai (2,800 mld). In such a case, how can npcil not pay the cess? Ridiculing npcil 's citing of the four-month clause, he says, "If all the industries go by npcil's logic, it will be a free for all situation. After receiving npcil's application, mpcb wrote back, asking for clarifications. Hence, the four-month period starts from that letter of mpcb and not May 4, 2005." Boralkar also cites an earlier Supreme Court order in a case between Kerala State Board for Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, Trivandrum, versus Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing (Weaving) Company Ltd, Kozhikode, which empowers pcbs to penalise defaulting units for non-payment of water cess under the 1974 Act. Besides, Boralkar says water cess is important for the pcb s to function. In the last year, mpcb has taken action against several defaulting units across Maharashtra to not only check them but also raise funds.

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