Hyderabad City being drugged by Bulk Drug Industry!

 

 Pattancheru Industrial Cluster

One of the most prominent and notorious pharmaceutical industrial clusters of the country, is around Pattancheru west of Hyderabad City. Over the past 2 to 3 decades, a growing chain of industrial estates has turned about 50 KM stretch of the countryside into an ecological sacrifice zone. In this stretch near Hyderabad, almost 40 percent of the country's bulk pharmaceuticals are produced and a large proportion of them for export. While the Bulk Drug Industry flourishes from exports, the people in the affected villages perish, from toxic effluents discharged from a myriad of drug units, into surface and ground water sources.

Back Ground of Bulk Drug Industry

The Citizens Group approached Hon'ble Supreme Court to get relief from unabated pollution of Surface and Ground water sources and the Soil by untreated and/or under treated effluents, from Bulk Drug Industry, in violation of Water Act and Environment Protection Act. The Supreme Court in W.P. 1056/90 directed that the industry should segregate degradable and non-degradable effluents for treatment by the industry before they are discharged or disposed for further treatment. But unfortunately, the directive is neither observed by the industry nor enforced effectively by the Regulating Agency

The AP Government issued G.O.Ms.No 62 of 28-04-1999, restricting the  establishment /expansion of water polluting Industries- Bulk Drugs, Pesticides (Tech) etc.-in industrial estates of four districts around Hyderabad, in compliance with the Supreme Court interim orders in W.P.No.1056/90, This order was issued primarily taking into consideration, the alarming levels of pollution and long lasting damage done to surface and ground water sources in the immediate neighborhood of Hyderabad Metropolitan Area .

But unfortunately, the Bulk Drug industry continues to indulge in production of the Drugs far in excess of the permitted quantities and / or unconsented (illegal) products leading to heavy pollution of Air, Water and Soil in the areas. As a result MOEF notified Pattancheru-Bollaram Industrial Cluster as one of the critically polluted areas in the country  

Pattancheru – Hell on Earth!

 A survey undertaken by Greenpeace India in 2004 is reported to have found high rates of illnesses in the affected villages where water is shared with bulk drug units. Clinically confirmed cancer was found to be 11 times higher in the study group. Respiratory diseases affected one in every 20 persons. Heart diseases were 16 times higher. Congenital malformations and chromosomal abnormalities were 3.93 times higher. Disorders of blood and blood forming organs were 2.9 times higher and that of skin and sub- cutaneous tissues 2.67 times more. The study was conducted in the villages of Bonthapally, Chitkul, Digwal, Gaddapotharamu, Khazipalle, Kistareddypet, Pasha Mailaram, Pocharam and Sultanpur in Pattancheru, Jinnaram and Kohir Mandals.

 Thousands of acres of formerly good farmland around Pattancheru lie uncultivated during the dry season because groundwater has become unfit for irrigation. The court committee visited 40 "pollution potential" companies in the industrial estates. Of those, 30 were producing drugs or drug ingredients, and only five were complying fully with lenient pollution laws. The court committee sampled 48 wells in the area and found 81 percent polluted beyond an international standard for irrigation water. In accordance with court orders, bulk drug companies are paying to have safe water piped into affected villages for drinking and cooking. But the polluted water is still used for other purposes in the home and on the farm. Pollutant concentrations in streams and lakes range from 12 to 100 times as high as those in an unpolluted lake just outside the contaminated zone, according to the 2004 report of a committee appointed by the AP High Court.

 

 Despite repeated crackdowns by APPCB, some Bulk Drug Units continue to pollute the Pattancheru area's Air with sulfurous mercaptan compounds that smell like rotten fish ironically, during the production of stomach antacids. Pattancheru area, where normally only the total quantity of pollutants- BOD, COD, TDS etc.-  is tracked, there's almost no information about specific toxic compounds. That is serious, because some of the drug industry's solvents, byproducts and ingredients can harm people even at low concentrations.

 

Cutting Corners to be Competitive

Many of the units of international repute in the area produce "Bulk Drugs", technically known as "active pharmaceutical ingredients" - raw materials for making Pills, Capsules, etc. As international Bulk-Drug market competition is fierce, the corner-cutting on Waste Treatment is rampant, by resorting to discharge of untreated and/or under treated effluents into surface water bodies, streams, drains, municipal sewers etc. The non- compliance of Rules and Regulations has become a High–Profit Business, paving the road to the profit of the Indian Bulk Drug industry, with ecological and human costs & tragedy passed on to the society.  The Regulating agencies and the State have become passive onlookers; to this reprehensible conduct of the industry, in violation of Article 48-A of The Constitution.

. When it comes to the cost of patented prescription drugs in United States, the sky's the limit. But in global bulk drug market, low cost is the name of the game, and India's People are subsidizing. Over medicated patients in America are inflating the demand for drugs having serious side effects in India. The countries importing Indian Bulk Drugs, who have commitment for Good Manufacturing Practices, Ecology, Human Rights etc., may like to consider   additional "Warnings" on Drugs made out of imported Bulk Drugs from India.

"Side effects, including drowsiness, skin rashes, gastrointestinal distress, neurological disorders, cardiovascular problems and/or cancer, may be encountered by those living near the site of manufacture of this drug."

 "Consumption of this antacid may induce headache, coughing and/or nausea downwind from where it was produced."

 "Some patients may experience sharp pangs of remorse when they learn more about the conditions under which this medication was produced."

Toxicity of Effluents from Bulk Drug Units

It was known for long that Pattancheru area was drenched in pollution by chemicals, solvents, and other, unidentified stuff. But no one suspected that it was an open-air laboratory for breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria, though   the area had been suffering from awful water quality and widespread health complaints for years. The seriousness of the pollution problem from bulk drug industries at Pattancheru was highlighted in 2007, by Joakim Larsson, an environmental scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

When he analyzed vials of so called treated wastewater taken from Common Effluent Treatment Plant Pattancheru (PETL), he found the discharge load of Ciprofloxacin, corresponding to approx. 45 kg of active ingredient per day at the highest concentrations ever recorded in effluents. This is equivalent to the total amount of Ciprofloxacin consumed in Sweden (population 9 Million) over an average 5 day period.

 And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly treated wastewater of PETL has 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of Hypertension, Heart Disease, Chronic Liver ailments, Depression, Gonorrhea, Ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured in waste waters are at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment.  In economical terms, if the equivalent amount of the 11 most abundant active substances released by PETL during 24 hrs. were to be purchased as final products in a Swedish pharmacy; they would cost over 100,000 British Pounds.

 

The high value of final product compared to much lower production cost of bulk-drugs, which is reported to be around 15% of the cost in developed countries, appears to be the reason for cutting corners. In the absence of deterrent penal action in the country and pressure from the importing countries, why should Indian Bulk-Drug industry minimize the release of certain drugs into waste waters, involving substantial investments?  In the process, Hyderabad City Population is being "drugged' through various water sources, with record levels of remedies for the maladies they don't have (yet), including ulcers, high blood pressure, and allergies

 

 AP Bulk Drug Industry- Utter Disregard to Rule of Law!

While the Industry Associations are advocating the Corporate Commitment (Responsibility) to Society, the AP Bulk-Drug Industry seem to be indulging in   manufacture of 'unconsented' (illegal) products, in utter contempt to Society  by claiming that their pollution load has not increased despite increase in production quantity and introduction of new products, by ensuring " Zero Discharge' which is nothing but a myth.

In the light of huge export potential of Bulk Drugs, the State Government, unmindful of serious consequences, acceded to  the request of the Bulk Dug Industry for lifting the Ban on Expansion of Bulk Drug Units, imposed as per the directive of Hon'ble Supreme Court  

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Bulk Drug Units Hoax of Zero Liquid Discharges ( ZLD )?

Back Ground of Ban Order

 

The APPCB, considering the water pollution problems and the need to protect the Drinking and Agriculture Water sources, issued Notification of 14-10-1996. This notification restricts establishment & expansion of water polluting Bulk Drug Industries in industrial estates of Ranga Reddy, Medak, Mahaboobnagar and Nallagonda Districts for two years from 01-01-97. Subsequently, the AP Govt. issued G.O.Ms.No 62 of 28-04-1999 making the APPCB Ban Notification permanent. This was done in compliance with the Hon'ble Supreme Court interim orders dated. 12.05.1998 in W.P.No.1056/90.

 

Forces against Ban Order

 

In spite of the ban order as per Supreme Court directive, the Bulk Drug industries have been indulging in excess production / unconsented products with impunity all these years. The penal action for the violations is being circumvented by approaching the courts and / or influencing the policy & decision makers.

 

The Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA) advocated the argument that industries, having Zero Liquid Discharges (ZLD) by adopting the state of the art Pollution Treatment Technologies, be permitted to expand their capacities in spite of the Ban Order. It is also argued that as long as the permitted pollution load does not exceed at the point of discharge, the industry be permitted to undertake the production of new products in the banned areas. 

 

Conceding to the request of BDMA, G.O. Ms. No. 64 dated 25-07-2013 was issued, relaxing the restrictions on expansion of existing Water Polluting Bulk Drug Units in and around Hyderabad. This has confirmed the apprehensions of the public, regarding manipulating capacity of the Bulk Drug Industry .to influence the Policy and Decision makers in their favour.

  

Myth of Zero Liquid Discharges ( ZLD )?

 

The decision process regarding relaxation of the ban, resulting in G.O. No. 64, seems to have been unduly influenced by the representation of BDMA claiming Zero Liquid Discharges (ZLD), ignoring the views of the concerned public on the subject.

 

How is Zero Liquid Discharges going to help the reduction of liquid and solid waste loads generated in the process? How is ZLD going to be evaluated and assessed in the absence of accurate data regarding the material balance of Chemicals, Solvents, Water etc. used in the process, the end product produced & liquid effluents generated?

 

 End of the Pipeline Treatment no Answer

 

While trying to achieve ZLD, by reducing hydraulic load of waste waters generated, through upstream segregation, evaporation, recovery etc. process, it will tend to increase solid waste. The total pollution load generated in the process continues to be the same whether in Liquid or Solid form.

 

The Liquid, Solid & Air pollutants   need to be attacked and minimized / avoided at the very point of their generation in the Production Process that generates them & cannot be eliminated once they are generated.

                                            

There is a need for technological up gradation of the production equipment and the process, to minimize both Inputs of Materials & Energy and Outputs of Waste Products & Pollutants. This is the only way to bring down the total Liquid, Solid and Air Pollution Loads in the process itself. The End of the Pipe treatment solutions, such as ZLD, can never lead to real pollution abatement and only ends up in manipulation and dilution of Pollution & Accountability.

                                   

ZLD will Prove to be a Hoax  

 

Before opting for ZLD, the Consent for Establishment (CFE) of the industry should clearly specify the Type and Quantity of the Product permitted per year, the stipulated energy & water consumption and liquid, solid and air pollution loads permitted per unit of product etc.  Without adequate systems, procedures & manpower in place to monitor regulate & control periodically, the ZLD will prove to be a disaster and a Hoax.

 

 The state of Water Bodies in and around Hyderabad is a testimony to the miserable failure of the present regime of Industrial Pollution Control, by the ill equipped Pollution Control Board (PCB) and its Overbearing Bosses. The Bulk Drug Industry, whose road to profit is paved with environmental crimes, more serious than criminal offences, is willing to take risks, as long as the State does not take stringent penal action against their reprehensible conduct.

 

Quote

 

"The pharmaceutical industry is the most lucrative, the most cynical and the least ethical of all the industries.  It is like an Octopus with tentacles that has infiltrated all the decision-making bodies, world health organizations, governments, parliaments, high administrations in health and hospitals and the medical profession"

 

                                                             - Professor Philippe Evans, Director of Necker Institute, France

 

Durgam Cheruvu & APTDC - Something Fishy!

 Background

 

Durgam Cheruvu, with an area of 25.23 Hectares, is known for its natural beauty and scenic surroundings and received the INTACH Award 1998. The Rocks around Durgam Cheruvu are under HUDA Heritage protection as Heritage Precinct No.1, since March 1998. And more areas in the vicinity of Durgam Cheruvu are notified as Precinct No. 15.  All development activities in notified Precincts need to be approved by the V.C HUDA & the Heritage Conservation Committee.

 

 HUDA Notification dated 4-5-2000, listing 169 lakes, which   includes Durgam Cheruvu, declares that the entire areas, falling within the Full Tank Level (FTL) of the lakes as per the Survey of India Maps, must be kept free from any type of constructions, irrespective of ownership or any land use or Master/Zonal Development Plans that may have  been previously notified. In addition, a buffer belt of 30 meter width on all sides of each lake must be kept free from all types of construction.

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AP High Court Directive

 

 A P .High Court in its Order of 20-7-2001 on WP.No.36929 of 1998, directed  APPCB, HMWS&SB and the Commissioner, Serilingampalli Municipality, regarding protection of Durgam Cheruvu, to  discharge their respective duties and functions under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1989 strictly in accordance with the provisions of those statues.  

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The Court also directed that a copy of the order be transmitted to the Chief Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh to monitor the functions and duties of the above authorities/agencies in protecting the environment of Durgam Cheruvu.

 

 Ground Realities

 

The untreated domestic sewage from the near by residential colonies /complexes. IT parks etc. that have come up in the full tank level (FTL) area, as well as the upstream area of the lake continue to be discharged into the lake, as the domestic sewage generated in the area is estimated to be much more than 5 MLD capacity of STP set up and the alternate arrangements to handle the excess quantity are not in place 

                                              

In spite of High Court directive not to permit any   more residential colonies in the vicinity or catchment area of the lake to come up, the   residential complexes/buildings have come up within the full tank   level area of the lake itself. The inventory of buildings that have come up in FTL area and around Durgam Cheruvu during last 12 years will speak for itself regarding the failure of State Administration.

 

High Court Intervention 

 

As the State Administration failed to act for protection of Durgam Cheruvu, even after a lapse of 8 years, the High Court had taken W.P. W.P.No 24077 of 2009 suo motto, based on a news item published in the News Paper "The Hindu" dated 03-11-2009 about dumping of construction material near Durgam Cheruvu.

                                             

The High Court in its Order dated 2-12-2009 impleaded HMDA as Respondent and directed to appoint a Committee to identify the encroachments within Durgam Cheruvu and to take necessary action to prevent dumping of building material and to plan for clearing the material already dumped. Accordingly G.O.No 12 dated 08-01-2010 was issued appointing the Committee for taking steps required for protection & reclaiming the encroached lands in Durgam Cheruvu

 

But nothing much seems to have happened during the last three and half years, either to prevent and / or identify the encroachments in FTL area of Durgam Cheruvu and to prevent discharge of untreated / under treated domestic sewage and other effluents into it. The  authorities "See No Evil", "Hear No Evil" , but Keep Doing It.

                                       

Durgam Cheruvu & APTDC--"Something Fishy" ?

 

 The location of Tourism and Recreation spots near water bodies can adversely affect them through alteration and destruction during development activities as well as through the direct impact caused by recreates and tourists. They can also affect the environment by putting additional pressure on local infrastructure facilities such as roads, water supply, sewage system etc. threatening environmental degradation of water bodies. The danger posed by tourism projects to ecosystem is demonstrated amply in and around Hussain Sagar

 

   The present proposal of APTDC to "facelift"/ "lake lift" Durgam Cheruvu by beautification of the lake environs, hill tops and development of Bar & Restaurant called "Something Fishy" appears to be really Fishy and Durgam Cheruvu may be doomed forever This is in contravention of the stipulation that no construction activity is permitted in and around the water body, except open to sky jetties for boating, platforms for fishing and rain shelters and snack bars each not exceeding 10 Sq.Mtrs in area and not exceeding four in numbers around one water body.

 

 Durgam Cheruvu will continue to be the tourist attraction, if only it is left alone, without any beautification activities around it and even without "Something Fishy"?

 

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Murky Tale of Indian Pharma Industry

 Ranbaxy and US FDA

If the reports are to be believed, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, the country's largest drug maker, is reported to have agreed to pay $500 million fine to US Authorities after pleading guilty to "felony charges" for making and selling adulterated drugs,  to settle civil and criminal charges of making fraudulent statements to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

 Ranbaxy is also reported to have falsified data to secure FDA approvals, while systematically violating the Agency's Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and good Laboratory Practices, resulting in sub-standard or unapproved drugs.

 

Good Manufacturing Practice Regulations

 

 The Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) Regulations enforced by the US FDA provide for systems that assure proper design, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes and facilities.  If a Pharma Company is not complying with cGMP regulations, any drug it makes is considered "adulterated" under the law.  This kind of adulteration means that the drug was not manufactured under conditions that comply with cGMP. It does not mean that there is necessarily something wrong with the drug.

 

Even if the drugs are not defective, FDA can bring a seizure or injunction case in court to address cGMP violations.   When FDA brings an injunction case, FDA asks the court to order a company to stop violating cGMP. Both seizure and injunction cases often lead to court orders that require companies to take many steps to correct cGMP violations. The FDA can also bring criminal cases because of cGMP violations, seeking fines and jail term.

Seriousness of Pollution Problems

The seriousness of the pollution problem from the Bulk Drug industries at Pattancheru near Hyderabad was highlighted in 2007, by an environmental scientist of Sweden, when he found at Pattancheru Effluent Treatment Ltd (PETL), the discharge load of Ciprofloxacin, corresponding to approx. 45 kg of active ingredient per day. It is likely to raise antibiotic bacterial resistance in the world, making it a Global Concern.   

 

 In addition to Ciprofloxacin, the supposedly treated effluents of PETL had 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. It was reported that half of the drugs detected were at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment.  In economical terms, if the equivalent amount of the 11 most abundant active substances released by PETL during 24 hrs were to be purchased as final products in a Swedish pharmacy; they would cost over 100,000 British Pounds.

                                                     

 Non Compliance, High-Profit Business in India

 

 The non-compliance of Pollution Control Rules & Regulations, particularly for the Bulk Drug Units, has become a high-profit business, because of laxity/collusion on the part of the regulating agencies and/or the political interferences. As a result, the Indian Bulk Drug products have become very competitive in the international markets, as the costs of treating the pollutants / complying with cGMP Regulations, are avoided through externalizing pollution / impacts by passing them on to the society.

 

The AP Pollution Control Board which is engaged in a loosing battle with Bulk Drug units for over 2 decades, is reported to have identified 57 Pharma units out of 98 operating in Medak District and 33 out of 66 in RR District, producing the un-consented products or excess production more than the permitted capacity in utter disregard to Rule of Law and the Ban Order issued in compliance with Supreme Court directive. 

 

 Instead of initiating stringent penal action under Section 15 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the APPCB Board seems to be finding ways and means for bailing out the offending Bulk Drug Units. The Board which is constituted as statutory body to work within the frame work of the statutes, Water Act, Air Act, Environment Act etc. seems to have become an extension or appendage of Department of EFS&T/ Govt of AP/BDMA. 

 

Conclusion

 

These Bulk Drug Industries contaminating the Air, the Water and the Soil, are committing Environmental Crimes that often damage the community more seriously than the Criminal Offence of the conventional kind. The Industry, setting aside their "Corporate Social Responsibility" is willing to take the risk to the bitter end, until it is no longer possible to conceal & fool around and till it economically hurts.

 

Therefore, the facts of the Crime have to be revealed, and the culprits have to be named, booked and penalized, so that it hurts them economically and socially. They will have to be penalized like the hard core criminals. Can we expect this to happen in our present system of Governance or do we need the intervention of US FDA?

Stop Repetition of Kudankulam & Jaitapur at Kovvada in AP State

Kudankulam NPP in Tamilnadu

At Present there is a strong public agitation against commissioning of first two Nuclear Reactors (Units 1&2) of 1000 MW capacity each at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu.  The agitation against this Nuclear Plant started way back 1989 The Govt of India chose to continue to give life to the first Environmental Clearance given in 1988-89, so that its lease of life prolonged, although under usual circumstances the validity of environmental clearance is valid only for 5 years for all industrial projects. 

The public were not involved in  the emergency preparedness plans and in chalking out evacuation schemes to protect public health and the environment in the case of a maximum credible accident like the one which occurred at Fukushima in Japan in March 2011.  Even without making a scientific based mock drill for emergency preparedness and disaster management consequent to a potential nuclear reactor explosion, the authorities are misleading  the public,  

As a result, NPCIL has not been able to commission even the 1 st Unit KKNPP, after a lapse of two decades and spending about Rs 14, 000 Crores on the project. Yet the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by the Prime Minister of India, has approved the proposal to grant administrative and financial sanction for constructing units 3 & 4 at the Kudankulam site. This sounds like a practical joke being played on the people of India even as the KKNPP units 1 & 2 are born still with the people of southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been waging a massive struggle against KKNPP for almost 600 days. This clearly shows the utter apathy and indifference the Central Govt. has for the precepts and practices of democracy in India.  

 There are several cases pending against the KKNPP as a whole and the KKNPP units 3-6 in particular at the Delhi High Court, the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) about the various clearances, waste management, liability and so on. This announcement may amount to a serious contempt of all these courts.

 

Jaitapur NPP in Maharashtra

 

 Based on the authorization from DAE letter dated 20 th October, 2005, the NPCIL submitted application to District Administration, Ratnagiri for acquiring land admeasuring around 970 ha for Project Site and Residential Complex of proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Park (JNPP). The Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division issued Notification dated 23-12-2005 published in Maharashtra State Gazette 12-01-2006, under Section -11 of subsection (1) of Maharashtra Project Affected Rehabilitation Act, 1999, notifying the land use from villages Madban, Karel, Niveli and Mithgavane of Rajapur Taluka, District Ratnagiri for establishing JNPP

 The expeditious Environmental Clearance (EC) for JNPP dated 28 th November 2010 was  justified, saying that it was essential to facilitate NPCIL and AREVA to sign General Framework Agreement as well as Works Agreement very soon and the Final Contracts in the first half of 2011. In other words, to meet the target date for the scheduled visit of the French President in the first week of December 2010. Mr. Jairam Ramesh, the then MOEF, by his Note  dated 28-11-2010, made public the detailed reasoning  for granting Environmental Clearance (E.C) to Jaitapur Nuclear Power Complex of NPCIL, because of Weighty Strategic and Economic reasons in its favour, in spite of issues/concerns regarding preservation of marine biodiversity, an area in which India has been very week..

The Environmental Clearance (EC) was granted to JNPP in a unholy hurry stipulating 35 conditions, without waiting for the "Carrying Capacity" and "Cumulative Impact Assessment" Studies, which are considered essential for ecologically sensitive region of Ratnagiri, and even without finalizing the project design and approval by AERB. It is evident, the entire EIA Process for Jaitapur NPP of NPCIL is nothing but going through a formality/ritual about a predetermined project, marginalizing the environmental & safety considerations and the public opinion. The failure on the part of NPCIL, to identify the specific issue pertinent to the project site –namely adverse impact on marine biodiversity pointed out by BNHS–and for its inclusion in EIA / EMP Reports, cannot be justified by MOEF by any stretch of imagination.

The same pattern of short-circuiting of Environmental Law, practiced at Jaitapur is now being repeated at Kovvada in AP State. Perhaps, the same pattern was followed in the KKNPP in Tamilnadu.

Kovvada Nuclear Power Park (KNPP) in Andhra

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Govt. of India constituted a "Site Selection Committee"( SSC) chaired by the Managing Director, NPCIL, for identifying possible sites for Nuclear Power Plants. The DAE based on the recommendation of SSC, accorded "In Principle" approval in October 2009 for setting up 6X1000 MW Nuclear Power Park (NPP) at the Kovvada site in Srikakulam district of AP State. The NPCIL did not prepare and submit the Site Evaluation Report (SER) highlighting the site related aspects regarding environmental and safety considerations, as required by Safety Guide of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

 Based on this "In Principal" approval of DAE, which has no sanctity/finality in the absence of the Site Clearance/Approval by AERB and the request from NPCIL, the Govt' of AP issued G.O.Ms.No 42 dated 01-11-2012, approving the proposal of District Collector, Srikakulam district, to issue Notification, under the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy of 2007 and to be published in the extraordinary issue of the Andhra Pradesh Gazette dated 02-11-2012.

 Accordingly, Ranmachandrapuram, Gudem, Kotapalem, Tekkali and Jeeru Kovvada villages of Ranasthalam Mandal in Srikakulam District are notified as  the villages likely to be affected under the proposed 6x1000MWe Nuclear Power Park of Light Water Reactors of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). As per the Notification, 1983 families with population of 7,960, in an area of 1916 Acers are covered by the "Project Affected Zone". The livelihood of the entire population to be displaced by the proposed land acquisition is based on Fishing/Agriculture/ Agriculture Labour.

The Site Evaluation for nuclear installation in terms of nuclear safety is to protect the environment and the public from the radiological consequence of radioactive releases due to accidents, etc. The mandatory Site Evaluation Report not only provides the technical basis of the Site Safety analysis report, it contains technical information useful for fulfilling the Environment impact Assessment for radiological hazards. Therefore, it follows that the Site Evaluation Report forms an important basis of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report as well. In order to appreciate the conclusion reached in the Environment Impact Assessment, the citizens must have access to the Site Evaluation Report as well. This will enable the public to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the likely environmental impact of the project.

 

As per AERB Safety Guide for NPP, the Assessment and  Consenting Process starts with Siting of the Plant, to determine whether the chosen site is suitable for the proposed type and capacity of the plant from environmental and safety considerations. Unless and until the site is approved by the AERB form the environment and safety point of view, the question of acquisition of land for the site of the Nuclear Power Park doesn't arise. It's an exercise in futility. As per the information available, AERB has not received any proposal from NPCIL regarding the proposed NPP at Kovvada Site.

As per the latest info received from MOEF, NPCIL now proposes to increase the capacity of KNPP from earlier proposed 6 X 1000 MW= 6000 MW  to 6 X 1596 MW = 9 564 MW, stating that there will be no change in the requirement of Land, Water, Waste Disposal etc., which may not be correct. The Nuclear Waste generated by the revised capacity is bound to be 50% more than that of the earlier capacity, just in the form of Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods.  

 

 The approval of AERB for the NPP Site at Kovvada, which is a mandatory requirement form the environment and safety point of view has not so far been obtained by NPCIL even for 6 X 1000 MW capacity, leave alone the revised capacity of 9564 MW capacity which will be much more hazardous and disastrous in the event of an accident.

 

Any hasty action by the State Govt for acquisition of the required land and the Environmental Clearance by MOEF GOI, without the prior AERB Mandatory Clearance for the Site Selection form the environment and safety point of view, and its suitability for the proposed type and capacity of the plant, involving elaborate process of Site Evaluation Report which forms an important basis of E I A Report, will only go against the Public Safety and Environment Protection. It makes the entire process of EIA and Environmental Public Hearing a mockery, as in the case of Kudankulam and Jaitapur.

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Important Quotes of Swami VIVEKANANDA (Contd.)

8. Weakness

The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.

All power is within you; do not believe that you are weak. You can do anything and everything.

9. Creator of your own Destiny

Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be. If you think yourselves strong, strong you will be.

Hold the ideal a thousand times, and if you fail a thousand times, make the attempt once more.

Stand up, be bold, be strong and know that you are the creator of your own destiny.

10. Secret of Success

All the secret of success is to pay as much attention to the means as to the end.

                                     (Concluded)

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Important Quotes of Swami VIVEKANANDA (Contd.)

4. Awaken Sleeping Soul

 

Call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, Glory will come, Goodness will come, Purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this Sleeping Soul is roused to self conscious activity.

5. Secret of Religion

The secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice. To be Good and to do Good- that is the whole of religion.

6. Character

Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.

7. Great Nation

Three things are necessary to make every Man Great, every Nation Great.

1)   Conviction of the powers of Goodness.

2)   Absence of Jealousy and Suspicion

3)   Helping all who are trying to be and to do Good.

                            (To be continued)

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