'I do not think nuclear plants are polluting and a threat to people's health'
V K Chaturvedi

Rediff: How do you assess India as a nuclear power producing country?

Chaturvedi: India was one of the few countries that started work on nuclear power at a very early stage. We started work in 1955. Some five decades back we developed the technology for uranium processing, making of the fuel, waste management, reprocessing and taking out plutonium. By 1965, we were ready with the basic technology to sustain a close-cycle nuclear power programme.

But when the implementation stage came, a number of difficulties cropped up. Our industry was not ready to take up the manufacturing of sophisticated equipment, which were required. The standard to which they had to raise their manufacturing expertise was too much. So we started giving them lots of assistance, financial and technical.

But despite all our efforts, today we are producing just three per cent of the power of the total installed capacity in the country. It is too less in comparison to the time that went in working on developing the nuclear energy.

Rediff: In 1985, the Indian government released a plan to produce 10,000 MW of nuclear power by 2000. But today it is nowhere near the target. What happened?

Chaturvedi: After our first nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1974, we were isolated. The international community imposed so many sanctions on us that nobody wanted to give us any transfer of technology for nuclear energy. The technical aid suddenly stopped. So we were forced to prepare everything in our own country. Even financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank did not give us any aid. So our nuclear programme had to depend on the government.

Then there was another problem. The Indian Atomic Energy Act of 1962 prohibits us from going for any private or public equity for the nuclear programme. So we had to depend solely on the government for money. In 1987 we found that the government was unable to give us the needed money. Therefore, a new company, the NPCIL was set up.

NPCIL was allowed to go for borrowing through bonds and loans from financial institutions. Our nuclear power programme in fact started to expand only after the setting up of NPCIL, which has installed eight nuclear power units across the country.

But we had also to face many problems at NPCIL. For instance, the P V Narasimha Rao government stopped all funding for nuclear power projects because of some strange reasons. The years from 1991 to 1996 were a period of total dryness and stagnation. No nuclear power plant came up during this period.

Rediff: Were the nuclear power programmes affected after the second Pokhran tests in 1998? Has the government renewed its interest after Pokhran II?

Chaturvedi: Yes. Now the government is showing tremendous interest in the programme. But after Pokhran II, we had to face many problems because of sanctions and international ban on the transfer of technology.

Rediff: Has the government increased the budgetary allocation for the nuclear power programme?

Chaturvedi: Yes, yes, it has. The allocation for us used to be around Rs 300 crore [3 billion] annually. It was just sufficient to pay the salaries. But last year, the government allocated nearly Rs 1,000 crore [10 billion]. This money is also nothing considering the fact that our aim is to add at 700 MW of power every year. For that we require a budgetary allocation of Rs 4,000 crore [40 billion] every year.

Rediff: World norms of nuclear reactor sizes are of 1,000 to 1,500 MW while India's reactor capacity is between 220 MW and 500 MW? Don't you think we are far behind in harnessing nuclear power because we still use the old technology?

Chaturvedi: You are correct. There are two reasons for that. One, our grids are very slim. Our grids used to have a capacity of just 8,000 MW. Now they have increased to 18,000 MW. So we could not attach a big mega watt of electricity to the grid. If we did that, it would collapse. That is why we went in for smaller reactors, which are good for our grids. Another problem is that in India heavy water reactors cannot be made more than 600 MW capacity. We do not have the infrastructure in our country to go for bigger reactors. Fabrication and transportation problems are always nagging us.

Rediff: Do you think nuclear power is a safe and environmentally clean source of power generation? Will it be the largest source of energy for India in the future?

Chaturvedi: Under normal operating conditions, the nuclear plants are safe and environmentally sound. I do not think nuclear plants are polluting and a threat to people's health. A plant generally emits two to three per cent radiation to the people living in the surrounding areas.

But that is nothing. You get that much radiation from the nature every day. You go to Rajasthan, the radiation that you would get from rivers and sands is much more. See, once you go to New York and come back, whatever radiation dose you get in the journey will be the same as the radiation that a man who is sitting 24 hours just outside our plants.

A Chernobyl-type of accident is impossible in a country like India. The heavy water reactors in India have been made in such a way that they have a number of layers of water around the fuel. Adequate safety features in the plant are provided to ensure its safe operation. Paramount importance is given in setting up of nuclear power installations, to the safety of operating staff, public and environment. Safety experts and regulatory personnel are associated at all levels.

Four hundred and forty-four reactors are operating today in the world. In all the countries, the types of accidents and safety norms are reviewed by the United Nations. We never had a major accident at our plants.

Rediff: Some proponents of the nuclear energy programme have expressed reservations about the nuclear plants in the country. For instance, they say the two reactors at Tarapur are unsafe and should be closed immediately.

Chaturvedi: There are reasons for this statement. The Tarapore reactors are very old. But I should say they are not dangerous. These reactors were checked by an international team of experts and were found safe. We are implementing most of the safety recommendations from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

Rediff: Don't you think there is too much secrecy surrounding our nuclear energy programme? The AERB's safety recommendations still remain a secret.

Chaturvedi: There is no secrecy in our nuclear power programme. But I do not know why the safety recommendations are not made public. We are transparent. You go to our site on the Internet and you find all the details about our projects and specifications. Critics claim our plants are unsafe because they take out minor incidents and exaggerate.