Governance / Odisha Examining Proposals For Nuclear Power Plants: Government

Bhubaneswar, Sept 2: The Odisha government is examining proposals from two companies to set up nuclear power plants in the State, but no decision has yet been taken on whether to proceed with the projects, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy, Vishal Kumar Dev, said on Tuesday.

“We have received proposals from two companies, including National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), with regard to setting up nuclear power plants in the State. These are under examination and studies are still underway. A government decision on whether to go ahead will be taken in due course,” Dev said during a media interaction held on the occasion of Odisha Lok Bhavan, formerly Raj Bhawan, receiving the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) certification.

He made it clear that safety would remain the government’s foremost consideration in any move towards nuclear energy.

“The government is very clear that the safety of the environment and the people comes first. Any initiative or further move on nuclear energy will be based on the principle that there must be no compromise on the safety of the people and the environment,” he said.

Asked whether university campuses across Odisha could be encouraged to obtain IGBC certification, Dev said students from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri had been invited to the Lok Bhavan event to motivate them to promote green campuses.

“The intention behind inviting the students to Lok Bhavan is to motivate them to go for green campuses and seek certification from IGBC,” he said.

He said the government was already promoting rooftop solar systems and grid-connected solar power as part of its clean-energy initiatives.
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On whether the State was planning a policy to promote new green buildings and convert existing structures into green buildings, Dev said the initiative would initially focus on government buildings.

“Each department can think about how we can make our departmental buildings green as far as possible. I think everybody can try for this,” he said.

His remarks came after the presentation of the IGBC Platinum Green Campus certification to Lok Bhavan, marking a significant step towards promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and sustainable waste management in government infrastructure.