Shanthie Mariet D’Souza
On the afternoon of August 2, a small hamlet in India’s Rajasthan state bore witness to the on-ground challenges that impede India’s gradual transition to clean energy. In the Chhoti Sarwan area of Banswara district, tribal protesters – men, women and children – violently clashed with the police for three hours over a proposed nuclear plant. Many were injured as the police removed protesters from the area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the plant in the coming month.
Spread over 660 hectares, the proposed Mahi-Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant project, to be built at a cost of approximately $6 billion, will produce 2.8 gigawatt (GW) of power. It will also displace over 3,000 people from eight villages, which will be vacated and demolished. While some of the displaced people have been compensated monetarily and have been provided with alternate land in nearby locations, others are demanding jobs in the power plant, citing job losses tied to the project. Local politicians say that people are also concerned about the environmental impact the plant can have on their land, water, and air. The displaced were unaware of the exact nature of the project for which they were asked to part with their land.
The protests may have shown local opposition, but the police actions clearly displayed the Indian state’s unwavering resolve to push past objections and achieve its clean energy goals for 2032 and 2070.
Indeed, nuclear energy has a critical place in India’s plans to implement a diverse portfolio of its energy mix policies nationally and within individual states to improve energy efficiency, develop clean energy sources, and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Official assessments have indicated that without substantial investment in nuclear as well as other green energies, India’s net-zero emission goals will not be met by 2070. The government seems to have prioritized setting up nuclear plants.
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