Will new power plants kill state mango belt?

Despite the threat to agriculture, the government is pushing for no less than 14 power and mining projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, the mango capital of Maharashtra

Will new power plants kill state mango belt?

Despite the threat to agriculture, the government is pushing for no less than 14 power and mining projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, the mango capital of Maharashtra

The government doesn't seem to have learnt a lesson after the people's mandate against the proposed 10,000 MW nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district on Maharashtra's Konkan coast, which poses a grave challenge to the region's eco system. It has emerged that the government has proposed to initiate 14 other power and mining projects in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, besides the five that already exist.

The two districts currently generate 3,000 MW of electricity with the existing power plants. With zero theft of electricity, the farmers of the region, referred to as the mango capital of the country, consume only 180 MW of electricity. They fear that the new projects will irrevocably damage the eco-system by killing the fish and contaminating the water, which will ultimately affect the production of mangoes from the region.

Advocate Pradeep Parulekar, an activist from Ratnagiri said, "We do not need all the electricity that is being generated over here. The government is forcing new projects on the land. This will affect our mango crop and the fish." Nearly 2.5 lakh hectare is used for growing mangoes and cashews. "If all these projects come up, the crops will be affected. These crops are our livelihood and this is what our region is known for," he said.

Rajendra Wadekar, a fisherman from Madban village in Ratnagiri district, where a 15,000 MW nuclear power plant has been proposed, said that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) project at Jaitapur would kill the fish. "I sustain my family by fishing. We catch crabs and lobsters that sell at premium. If this project starts, it will destroy the Konkan belt." The villagers are understandably angry at the government's flip flop on the Jaitapur project. The Chief Minister said last Tuesday that the project would go ahead with increased compensation to the villagers.

Majeed Govankar, a resident of Madban village, said that they didn't want the compensation and were happy with fishing and farming. "If these projects begin, we aren't the only ones affected. What will happen to the people who come to build these projects? Where will they go, once the project is completed?" he asked. "The sale of fish and export of mangoes earn enough for us. This is what the Konkan is best known for it."

Some of the Proposed projects