Shillong, Jan 7 : India’s nuclear power plants have been working at about half their capacity of 4,000 MW due to shortage of nuclear fuel despite the efforts of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to tap the indigenous uranium deposits.

The power plants were facing shortage of supply of uranium due to the slow process in opening up of new uranium mines.

”We are still waiting for various clearances from the Meghalaya government for developing an open cast mining for production of 3,75,000 tonnes of uranium deposits at Kylleng-Pyndeng-Sohiong and setting up of a processing plant at Mawthabah to feed immediate requirements of the nuclear plants,” Head of Public Awareness Division of AMD Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra said.

However, the ruling Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government is yet to take a concrete decision on the Rs 1,046 mega project due to strong opposition within the alliance and other NGOs.

”It is an established fact that uranium is a highly radioactive element, which can be a terrible health hazard and contaminate the environment,” Khasi Student’s Union president Samuel Jyrwa said, adding, the effect it will have on the health of the people will be crippling and deadly as has been the case with the indigenous people of Jharkhand in India, the Aborigines in Australia, the Novajo Indians in America and others.

Mr Malhotra, however, sounded optimistic that the long-pending project would be executed soon with the local people in the vicinity of proposed mining area favouring of the project.

In fact, the Centre has decided to sanction Rs 1,300 crore for development of infrastructure in the proposed uranium mining areas, provided the government evolves a consensus over the mining issue.

According to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) projections, India needs to reach a per capita electricity consumption of nearly 5,000 KW per year by 2050.

”Even after making best use of all available domestic resources, it is impossible to meet the required electricity generation profile without Meghalaya’s contribution in supplying Uranium from its vast reserve,” Mr Malhotra said.

The government was also looking at using thorium, a non-fusile material, as a long term energy source.

India currently has 17 operating reactors, with a total installed capacity of 4,120 MW. Of these, 15 are PHWRs. The other two are light water reactors (LWRs) built by the US at Tarapore in Maharashtra. These LWRs use enriched uranium as fuel, and light water as coolant and moderator.

UNI

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