Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's visit to Jaitapur didn't cut any ice with locals protesting the 9900 MW Nuclear Power Project planned there. Soon after, several people were arrested in a case of rioting filed in December, the arrest of Dr Milind Desai, a local protester who was stopped by industries minister Narayana Rane while slamming the government on stage has further incensed the situation. Activists now allege that the arrests are...

Ratnagiri Collector Madhukar Gaikwad has denied permission for the two-day Independent People's Tribunal ‘public hearing' on the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project proposed to be held on March 6 and 7 at Niveli, one of the affected villages. Deepika D'Souza of the Tribunal said that Mr. Gaikwad, in a letter on Friday, refused permission as per orders from the police. No grounds for disallowing the meeting were given, she said. Ms. D'Souza said...

Activists opposed to a nuclear power plant in Jaitapur plan to go ahead with an “inquiry” by a people’s tribunal into environment and rights violations by the project even after 14 protesters were arrested for alleged rioting. The protesters were held over a riot that broke out in December following the death of a local resident after being hit by a police Jeep. Among those arrested is Milind Desai, a resident of...

In a last-minute change of plans, protesters opposed to the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project will now meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday and address the public meeting. Till Friday evening, they had decided to boycott the Chief Minister's meeting to show their staunch opposition to nuclear energy.However, at a meeting in Madban near the project site, Pravin Gavankar from the Janhit Seva Samiti and members of various anti-nuclear...

India’s rulers have found a new vocation – maligning environmentalists and questioning the very idea of regulating industry for pollution. Thus, faced with criticism of Lavasa, an artificial gated city of the super-rich near Pune, in which his family has invested crores, Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, lashed out at well-known activist Medha Patkar and other “vested interests” for obstructing this “pioneering” project. Lavasa’s promoters built the project without seeking environmental clearance...