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Labour, land woes may dog Indian nuclear power | Top News | Reuters

Labour, land woes may dog Indian nuclear power

By Himangshu Watts

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A U.S. civilian nuclear deal with India opens the taps to the country’s fuel-starved reactors, paving the way for them to double output, but building new capacity looks tricky.

Obstacles such as land acquisition — already putting the brakes on projects like Tata Motors’ low-cost Nano car — and a shortage of engineers mean the industry could struggle to attract what the Confederation of Indian Industry hopes will be $27 billion in 18-20 nuclear plants over the next 15 years………………………

For a nuclear plant, additional concerns about the environmental and health impact could also anger activists and local residents.

Last year, tribesmen in Meghalaya staged a five-day campaign to protest against government plans to mine uranium, saying this could affect the health of villagers in the area, home to the largest deposits in the country.

Labour, land woes may dog Indian nuclear power | Top News | Reuters

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive

October 3, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs