A NUCLEAR plant in Punjab could be onthe cards if chief minister Beant Singhhas his way. Singh has prevailed upon the managing director ofpig the Nuclear Power Corp(NPC), S K Chatterjee, toconduct a feasibilitystudy to locate a nuclearpower plant in the state,in spite of its proximityto the border and arecord of political instability.
A survey conducted a decade agoruled out the setting up of a nuclearpower plant in the state. There havebeen no serious offers to set up thermalpower plants'because of Punjab's distance from coal mines. The state'spower requirement, estimated at about4,000 mw, is expected to rise to 4,500mw by 1996-97, according to a 1993Central Electricity Authority survey.
A degree of peace and stability overthe past two years in Punjab has alsospurred the demand for more power inthe state. Singh is pinning his hopes onthe corporation setting up at least a 500mw power plant. However, defence analyst Brij Mohan Kaushik of the Institutefor Defence Studies and Analyses in NewDelhi opines, "It would be foolish if NPCsited its plant in the strategically sensitive state."