SHC extends stay on two nuclear power plants project in Karachi

[Saifullah Sani]

The Sindh High Court on Friday extended for another week its stay order restraining the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) from carrying out work on the two nuclear power plants project in Karachi without adhering to environmental laws.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar was hearing a petition challenging the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), which approved the two plants.

The petition, filed by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Dr Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, Dr A.H. Nayyar and Arif Belgaumi named the PAEC, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), Sepa, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pepa) and the environment and alternative energy department of Sindh as respondents.

The bench that also comprised Justice Shahnawaz Tariq had earlier asked the proponents of the project not to begin work unless they met the requirements set under Section 12 of the Environmental Protection Act and put the project to the EIA as prescribed under the law.

The PAEC recently started preparing sites for the two nuclear power plants — K-2 and K-3 — adjacent to the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp). Besides, subsequent plans for two more plants — K-4 and K-5 — were also under consideration.

The petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Abdul Sattar Pirzada, said the reactors had purportedly been designed and would be built by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on a design known as ACP-1000, which was not operating even in China.

He said the EIA submitted by the PAEC to the then provincial environmental protection agency was in gross violation of the law because its review was carried out by Pepa without inviting public participation and relevant information was kept secret from the public at large in a highly surreptitious manner.

The petitioners requested the court to declare the EIA and its subsequent review as illegal and of no legal effect and direct the PAEC to submit a fresh EIA to Sepa and Pepa to carry out a well-publicised public review of it in accordance with the Section 17 of the 2014 Act.

They also requested the court to restrain the respondents from carrying out work on the nuclear power plants till the outcome of the review of the new EIA and evacuation plan.

The hearing was adjourned to Dec 12

SHC extends stay on N-plants - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

 

[Chak Bamu]

Nuclear reactors are far safer now than they were ever before. The most that should be done is relocate these a few more KMs and that is it. Any farther would take them into Baluchistan, which is just as well. Else, these can be relocated to Punjab.

 

[Gufi]

Reactors need to be kept away from the sea and the away from populated areas... They should be no go zones for a radius of 20 km at the minimum. We have desert land and yes it will be costlier and cooling more difficult but it will be safer

 

[AsifIjaz]

This is a foolish decision... this anti nuclear fanatic pervaiz and his compatriots need to take a look at the world around us... one can debate that the reactors need to be away from the city but then why in the world did KMC and the court not intervened when Kanup was operating a few decades ago and the city starting creeping in the backyard... was it sleeping then???
To make a petition in pakistan is childs play and to make it linger on is more easier... what needs to be done is that the government needs to commit a few things (i.e. back up generators and in built designs / safe valves for cooling the reactor if its hit by a tsunami or earthquake.. the same way auto protection and/or over rides are a permanent feature of newer reactor designs... the reactors on offer are much more sophisticated than Kanupp-1. Work on the announced energy projects need to be initiated asap.. amongst these the projects of interest are the nuclear ones and the coal projects which i hope can be converted to thar coal one day or can be made to run on thar coal.
There is a danger associated with all and almost every industry.. even fertilizer plants can be deadly (read ammonia, read bhopal disaster).. so why do we have FFBL in Karachi, DHL in Lahore, Engro in Dharki, FFC 1&2 at Goth Machi (sadiqabad/rahimyar khan) and FFC3 at mirpur mathelo...
if this does not convince you then consider the hazards associated with gas/petrol stations .. e.g. take the example of the CNG ststion that blew up in kci dha phase 4 about 6/7 years ago, the 40,000L diesel tanker that caught fire 2 months ago when the fuel was being unloaded at Caltex, R block, DHA, Lahore... the truck driver was sane enough to quickly drive it away to the under construction hailey tower nearby otherwise 40K Litre + 130K litres already stored there would have flattened at least the 10 to 15 houses adjacent to it... so why do we have these CNG stations and the Petrol stations inside the city?
Pervaiz hoodbhoy is a great person no doubt about it but his reaction on hearing anything related to the word nuclear is nothing less than pathetic or imbecile.... enough said

 

[tarrar]

There should be a strict & tough law against those who become obstacles in the way of development.

 

[FaujHistorian]

Nuclear reactors are far safer now than they were ever before. The most that should be done is relocate these a few more KMs and that is it. Any farther would take them into Baluchistan, which is just as well. Else, these can be relocated to Punjab.

Our High courts are the best thing ever devised to keep Pakistan in utter darkness both physically and intellectually.

Any 2-bit socialist or Islamist can go stop development, or worse get someone hanged for made up blasphemy charges.

While the same courts let anti-state actors run free.

So sad to see.

 

[Nadeem Kahlon]

In the name of environment these people are actually inviting non-reversible disasters of storms and cyclones.They are pushing the fishermen into the calamities by delaying carbon free technologies.
I would say one thing that China started construction of not only two but four AP1000 plants (Sanmen and Haiyang) in 2009 which were in papers. There was no hue and cry in China. Secondly, at Karachi, ACP1000 power plant will not be the first one. In China, construction of Fuqing 5&6 which are ACP1000 (Hualong 1), has been started and will be available before 2020.

 

[farhan_9909]

Stay rejected and Green signal is given for the construction of Nuclear reactors in karachi.

Good news

 

[Leviza]

Do we need Talibans and India as our enemy ? we already have these high courts ...

High courts need to check out the credibility of these people first . do they have any knowledge of the things they are opposing ?

 

[dil_dil]

I think nukes plants should have been build in Punjab and coal power plants in Karachi. Basically build coal power plants along side sea coast to have easy and cheap access to coal.

 

[Pakistani_Soldier_1]

Reactors need to be kept away from the sea and the away from populated areas... They should be no go zones for a radius of 20 km at the minimum. We have desert land and yes it will be costlier and cooling more difficult but it will be safer

Any reference? why 20Km radius should be "no go zone"

I think nukes plants should have been build in Punjab and coal power plants in Karachi. Basically build coal power plants along side sea coast to have easy and cheap access to coal.

What about Nukes plant ? where they build in Punjab(highly populated province)?

 

[Echo_419]

In the name of environment these people are actually inviting non-reversible disasters of storms and cyclones.They are pushing the fishermen into the calamities by delaying carbon free technologies.
I would say one thing that China started construction of not only two but four AP1000 plants (Sanmen and Haiyang) in 2009 which were in papers. There was no hue and cry in China. Secondly, at Karachi, ACP1000 power plant will not be the first one. In China, construction of Fuqing 5&6 which are ACP1000 (Hualong 1), has been started and will be available before 2020.

China is a autocracy & you folks are a democracy

Do we need Talibans and India as our enemy ? we already have these high courts ...

High courts need to check out the credibility of these people first . do they have any knowledge of the things they are opposing ?

Accha apne Bhai ko aise bolega tu

 

[Bilal.]

Stay rejected and Green signal is given for the construction of Nuclear reactors in karachi.

Good news

Can you share the link please?

 

[black-hawk_101]

So how much power will they going to produce?

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

So how much power will they going to produce?

2000 mw