CURRENT UPDATE: PM TO LAY FOUNDATION OF N-PLANT IN HARYANA TODAY

PM TO LAY FOUNDATION OF N-PLANT IN HARYANA TODAY

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation of 2,800 Megawatt nuclear power plant in Fatehabad district of Haryana on Monday.

The foundation stone of the project-- Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna-- will be laid at Gorakhpur village of the district. 

The plant will have four units, each of 700 MWs and it will be built at a cost Rs 23,502 crore, an official spokesman said. 

The nuclear plant will accelerate the pace of development of the area, an official spokesman said. 

In view of the Prime Minister's visit tight security arrangements have been made. 

Ten Superintendent of Police rank officers have been put on duty as part of nearly 2,500 policemen who have been given the task of foolproof arrangements, official sources said. 

The spokesman said that the setting up of this nuclear power plant would not only increase the power supply, but would also generate more employment opportunities. 

A total of 1,503 acres of land was acquired for setting up of the plant, out of which a bulk 1,313 acres of land belongs to Gorakhpur village. The entire land belonged to 847 families, he said. 

The spokesman said that about Rs 450 crore has been given to the farmers as compensation. 

Along with lump sum compensation, the government would also give royalty every year to the farmers for the next 33 years which would prove to be a dual benefit, he added. 

The project, which was in the pipeline since 2009, had faced resistance from the people living in the area and some environmental activists. 

Principal opposition party INLD, too, had earlier raised safety concerns about the project, especially in the wake of the Fukushima incident in Japan.