Farmers move court against Gorakhpur nuclear power plant in Haryana

Plant site is fertile land and sustains 10,000 people

Their sit-in protest in front of the Fatehabad mini-secretariat in Haryana completed 525 days on January 25. It has yielded little result. Yet the farmers from Gorakhpur, Kumaharia and Kajalhedi villages of Fatehabad district who are opposing acquisition of 608 hectare (ha) of their land for a nuclear power plant are determined to fight till the end.

The Project

In October 2009, the Centre approved setting up of the nuclear power plant. The 2,800 MW power plant is being constructed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).

It would use pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) to generate power and involves an investment of Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 crore. It would require an area of about 628 ha, which includes 60 ha for residential purposes.

In early 2010, a high-level committee comprising NPCIL engineers had visited three villages – Gorakhpur, Kumaharia and Kajalhedi – for site selection. The site was found suitable based on distance from human population and availability of land and water.

Haryana