MUMBAI: Even as its ally in the state government, the Shiv Sena, continues to vehemently oppose the Jaitapur nuclear plant, chief minister Devendra Fadnavison Tuesday met officials of the French company who will be building the plant and asked them to give employment to locals and have a dialogue with Jaitapur residents to dispel their project related concerns.
Representatives from France led by secretary general for foreign affairs Christian Masse, along with ambassador Alexandre Ziegler, EDF company officials and French consul general office representatives from Mumbai met Fadnavis at his official residence Varsha and discussed the controversial project at length.
Officials from EDF assured they would start actual work on the project in December 2018 and complete it by 2027. Fadnavis said that adequate safety measures would be deployed while starting work on the nuclear plant. The 10,000 MW nuclear plant project has six reactors, and EDF has assured that state-of-the-art technology would be used for the plant, with adequate safety measures in it. Fadnavis asked the company to announce the timeline for the project and take the local population into confidence with respect to the safety measures being deployed. He also asked the French officials to keep the power rates in line with Government of India guidelines. The French officials have assured that the power rates would be as per government guidelines and all safety measures would be taken.
“Fadnavis spoke to them about the concerns of locals regarding safety and the impact on the ecosystem of the adjourning areas. They have been asked to look into safety measures in detail,” said an official who was part of the meeting.