Taking forward their opposition to the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra, a group of opposition parties led by the Left on Sunday wrote to the Prime Minister demanding cancellation of the contract with French company Areva, claiming that serious objections regarding the safety of the proposed reactors and its costs are being overlooked. “We are deeply concerned that both the Central government and the Government of Maharashtra do not seem to have paid due attention to the serious objections regarding the safety of the proposed Areva reactors and its costs raised by experts, parliamentarians, public figures and the local people,” the National Committee in Solidarity with Jaitapur Struggle said in the letter. They argued that the project is being “pushed against the will of the local people”. Constituted last year, the committee has as its members Left leaders Prakash Karat, A Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja besides TDP’s Nama Nageswara Rao, LJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Vilas Paswan and JD(S)’s Danish Ali. Claiming that the project has not been subjected to an “independent rigorous scientific techno-economic scrutiny” and safety audit in the public domain, they said the ‘conditional’ environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2010 was based on an “unscientific and deeply flawed Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA) report. “NEERI, the agency engaged to prepare the EIA, is admittedly not competent on matters concerning nuclear hazards. The environmental clearance is subject to clearance by the AERB on matters concerning nuclear energy. We understand that AERB is yet to consider and approve the design of the Areva reactor. The environmental clearance thus granted has not considered seriously the main environmental issues and hazards arising out of this project,” they said. The leaders reiterated their charge that the European Pressurised Reactors of Areva was an “untested design” and has caused serious concerns among the nuclear safety agencies of different countries. Lastly, they pointed out that the Fukushima disaster has raised questions about the co-location of multiple nuclear reactors at a single location. “The plan of putting up 6 reactors in Jaitapur appears seriously flawed after Fukushima,” they said. The vast store of spent fuel produced once the plant commences operations will be another long-term hazard. “It does not appear that NPCIL has made any plans to address this issue,” they said.