Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil on Friday said Shiv Sena’s opposition to the proposed nuclear plant at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district is politically motivated as Maharashtra’s revenue will increase by Rs 21,000 crore after the project is commissioned. Union Minister Jitendra Singh told Parliament on Thursday that the Center had given “in-principle approval” for the project site to set up six nuclear reactors of 1650 MW each.
Patil told PTI, “It seems that Shiv Sena’s opposition to Jaitapur nuclear power plant is politically motivated. I don’t see any policy stance there. In fact, Maharashtra’s annual revenue will increase by Rs 21,000 crore once the project is commissioned.”
“As per my knowledge, it is a Rs 3 lakh crore project, and once it is commissioned, 50,000 jobs will be created,” he said. The BJP leader asked why political parties were opposing it and depriving the local people of job opportunities.
Maharashtra PWD minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Friday said consent of local people is necessary for setting up a nuclear plant. In a statement, Chavan said that locals believe that the project will adversely affect the environment as well as mango and cashew plantations.
Chavan said the Congress, which is part of the ruling MVA alliance in the state, will stand with the local people. The state BJP president criticized the Uddhav Thackeray government for the distress faced by farmers due to lack of relief after the cyclone in the last two years.