Another village gets land acquisition notice

Nearly 112 residents of Mithgawane village in Ratnagiri were issued fresh land acquisition notices for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant on Wednesday.

Nearly 112 residents of Mithgawane village in Ratnagiri were issued fresh land acquisition notices for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant on Wednesday.

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“We have also sent notices to another village. I was told that some villagers have refused to accept the notices, but I am yet to receive the official report,” said Makarand Deshmukh, a special land acquisition officer.

On two previous occasions, land acquisition proceedings for the proposed plant hit a roadblock when the villagers, who are opposing the project, refused to cooperate.

The plant will occupy land across five villages in Ratnagiri district, 450 km away from Mumbai.

While villagers in Niweli village refused to accept the compensation cheques, those from Karel did not accept the land acquisition notices.

The date for giving compensation cheques for both Karel and Mithgawane has been postponed to November 20 from the earlier date of November 10.

But Deshmukh was quick to point out that the postponement was not due to villagers' protests but for administrative reasons.

Of the 938-hectares across five villages, 700 hectares will house the six European pressurized heavy water reactors imported from France and poised to generate 10,000 mega watts of power for Maharashtra. While an environmental clearance for the reactor site is awaited, land acquisition has begun for areas that will house utilities for the staff employed at the plant.