Villagers in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district have stopped preliminary drilling for a proposed nuclear power project near Rojhauhi village, saying their gram sabha never agreed to it. District officials, who have been trying to calm the standoff, say construction has not begun and that the work under way is only meant to check whether the site is suitable.
What happened at the site
According to local reports, residents gathered on October 9 when drilling equipment arrived for the site investigations and prevented the work from going ahead. Officials of the district administration, police personnel and people linked to the project were present as attempts were made to resolve the situation.
The project is being pursued by Tata Power Company Limited. In a letter dated July 13, the company told the local power distribution office in Teonthar that it had begun pre-project activities for a proposed 2×220 MW nuclear plant near Rojhauhi. A letter from the Rewa Collector’s office dated August 21 relates to geological tests involving eight boreholes, four of them to be drilled to 100 metres and four to 50 metres.
A separate scope-of-work document from June lists studies on water availability and drainage for the project. It names the Tamas river, about 12 km from the proposed site, along with the Bansagar reservoir and the Tons and Beehar barrages among the sources and structures to be assessed. Tata Power has not publicly commented on the protest.
Villagers’ objections
Opposition is recorded in village documents. A special gram sabha meeting at Sarai Kala on September 3 noted objections to the project, and on September 5 sarpanch Komal Singh wrote to the Collector saying the gram sabha opposed it and had not given consent.
Shivanand Dwivedi, a social activist leading the protests, said the plant would affect more than 100 gram panchayats in the area, not just Sarai Kala. He voiced fears about health, the environment and the effect of hot-water discharge on local rivers and aquatic life, and cited the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters. He alleged that no public hearing had been held and that a no-objection certificate had been prepared on the basis of a “forged and fabricated letter” from the sarpanch, adding that the gram sabha had passed two resolutions against the plant.
What the administration says
Rewa Collector Narendra Kumar Suryavanshi said no land had been allotted to Tata Power and that the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation was involved in facilitating land for the project. He said the permission granted so far covers only testing the site and studying feasibility.
Only after the suitability of the land is established can a decision be taken on the project.
Narendra Kumar Suryavanshi, Rewa Collector
On the consent dispute, the Collector said the administration had received the gram sabha’s consent before villagers began protesting, and that the no-objection certificate was issued on the basis of that earlier consent. He said he and the Superintendent of Police were trying to explain to residents that testing did not mean a plant was being set up.
What happens next
For now, the site tests remain stalled. The dispute over whether the gram sabha consented, and whether a public hearing will be held, is likely to decide how quickly the project can move from feasibility studies to any formal approval process.
