The Bargi Dam, the first dam built on the Narmada River, displaced and affected 162 predominantly tribal villages in the districts of Mandla, Seoni, and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. One of these displaced villages, Chutka in Mandla district, has now been proposed as the site for a nuclear power project.

The Chutka Nuclear Project received its in-principle approval in 2009. The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report in March 2013. Based on this report, public hearings were scheduled on 24 May and 31 July 2013. However, due to strong opposition from local communities, the district administration had to cancel these hearings.

Eventually, on 17 February 2014, the formalities of the public hearing were completed under heavy police deployment. Villagers also prevented survey teams from entering the villages.

This area falls under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, where the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) is applicable. Under this law, all affected Gram Sabhas passed resolutions opposing the project.

Despite this, the district administration began the land acquisition process on 29 June 2012, issuing Section-4 notices in every affected village. The villagers submitted written objections to the Collector of Mandla.

Ignoring these objections, the Jabalpur Commissioner passed an award in favor of the project on 11 December 2015. Compensation for land was fixed at approximately ₹3.75 lakh per hectare.

In a cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on 22 September 2015, 41.49 hectares of village common land (Nistari land) was allocated for the project.

For the Chutka project, approval was also granted on 25 August 2017 to divert 54.46 hectares of reserved forest land and 65 hectares of revenue forest land.

However, the claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006—both individual and community claims—have still not been resolved.

In the affected village of Chutka, 48 cultivators occupying forest land have not received forest rights titles. Similarly, 35 farmers cultivating grassland classified as revenue land have been farming there for years without formal land rights.

In another affected village, Kunda, 35 cultivators occupying forest land have also not been granted forest rights titles. Despite this, they continue to cultivate the land and sustain their families.

Another major concern relates to the fishing communities in the Bargi reservoir. Out of 45 fishermen cooperative societies, members of five societies (about 187 fishermen) may lose access to fishing in the reservoir due to security restrictions around the nuclear project.

Local villagers are also opposing the project due to fears of radioactive radiation from the plant.

Under the joint initiative of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Organization and the Chutka Nuclear Opposition Struggle Committee, public awareness campaigns and street meetings are being organized in different parts of Jabalpur city against the project.

Even today, people are refusing to shift to the rehabilitation colonies built for the displaced families and have not vacated their villages. Due to strong public resistance, the project work has still not begun.

Meanwhile, apart from the Chutka nuclear project, in 2024 the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) also received in-principle approval from the Department of Atomic Energy for 2800 MW nuclear power projects in several locations in Madhya Pradesh, including:

• Vasi in Neemuch district
• Babdi Kheda in Dewas district
• Kinderai in Seoni district
• Bhimpur in Narwar tehsil of Shivpuri district

The Bhimpur nuclear project had been proposed earlier but has now received approval along with the Chutka project.

Policy Changes and Private Investment

India has decided to allow up to 49% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in nuclear energy in a phased manner. Initially, the government may allow 26% FDI, which could later be increased after review.

The central government plans to open the nuclear sector to private participation in order to increase nuclear power capacity from the current 8 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts by 2035.

However, India’s experience over the past 50 years shows that it typically takes 12 to 14 years for a nuclear plant to go from construction to connection with the power grid.

Even if we assume a very optimistic timeline of 10 years, the country could realistically add only around 16 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035.

At present, nuclear power contributes about 3% of India’s electricity generation, and only a little over 1% of the country’s total primary energy supply.

Even if nuclear power were completely phased out and replaced with renewable energy, it would have no major impact on India’s energy security.

On the contrary, renewable energy sources are expanding much faster, at lower cost and with fewer risks. Nuclear energy has now become one of the most expensive and slowest technologies for electricity generation.

Changes in Nuclear Laws

The Government of India has proposed amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 to enable private companies to participate in building and developing nuclear reactors in India and to attract foreign investment in the nuclear industry.

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

A Small Modular Reactor (SMR) is expected to generate approximately 1,800 tons of spent nuclear fuel over its 60-year lifespan.

The selected sites will therefore require long-term arrangements for safe storage and management of nuclear waste.

Legal provisions must also ensure that sites owned by private parties remain under strict regulatory control.

To guarantee safe disposal of radioactive waste, spent fuel and radioactive waste management requirements must be incorporated into the design and licensing stages of nuclear projects.

Large-scale production of SMRs will require strict regulatory oversight during manufacturing, module assembly, start-up, and operation to ensure compliance with safety and production standards.

International Interest in India’s Nuclear Market

Indications of changes in India’s nuclear laws were already visible in 2022, during the India-US ministerial dialogue in Washington between the defense and foreign ministers of both countries.

At that time, a US company expressed interest in investing ₹60,000 crore to build six nuclear reactors in India, along with ₹10,000 crore investment to develop SMR technology for domestic use and export.

SMRs typically generate 10 to 300 megawatts of electricity. Due to their modular design and smaller size, multiple units can be installed at a single site as needed.

In 2022, discussions regarding this technology also took place between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and the Washington Electric Company.

This raises an important question: Why are foreign companies eager to invest in India’s nuclear sector?

The reason is that the global nuclear power industry is currently facing a major slowdown, and companies from the United States, France, and Russia are actively seeking contracts and orders in India.

The Question of Expensive Electricity

People of Madhya Pradesh want to know what the tariff of electricity produced from the Chutka nuclear plant will be, but this information has not been disclosed.

Under the agreement, 50% of the electricity generated from the plant will have to be purchased by the Madhya Pradesh government.

If the state electricity companies sign contracts to purchase expensive nuclear power, the financial burden will ultimately fall on 1.30 crore electricity consumers in the state.

Consumers are already struggling with high electricity tariffs.

At present, Madhya Pradesh power companies are already burdened with ₹49,239 crore in debt and a cumulative loss of ₹71,394 crore, as of 31 March 2025.

Raj Kumar Sinha
Bargi Bandh Visthapit Avom Prabhavit Sangh