Mumbai: The neighbouring Palghar district has been witnessing earthquakes of varying magnitudes since November 2018 and these frequent tremors pose a high risk to the nuclear facilities at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), highlights a PIL filed in the Bombay High Court. The PIL filed on Wednesday, has accordingly urged the HC to immediately stop the functioning of both these units.
The PIL has been filed by an engineering student seeking directions to the Maharashtra government and also the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to immediately stop the operations at the BARC and the TAPS. The student, in his PIL, has claimed that the frequent tremors felt in Palghar between November 2018 and December 2018 pose a high risk to both these units.
“The frequent earthquakes witnessed in Palghar district pose a high risk to the nuclear facilities. The government has to review the safety measures of these units,” the PIL reads. The student has sought to know the ‘plan’ of the government to tackle any untoward incident at these two facilities. “While the TAPS is located in Palghar district, the BARC is around 70km away at Trombay.
Any untoward incident at these facilities due to tremors would pose a threat to life, environment and property,” the petition reads. Thus, the government must reveal what disaster management plan it has in place to deal with any untoward incident. , The petition is expected to be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice Naresh Patil, in the coming week.
