At a time when the country is divided over the Indo-US nuclear deal, three prominent nuclear scientists have urged the government not to go ahead with the controversial deal.
Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr. P K Iyengar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Dr A Gopalakrishnan and former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Center Dr.A.N. Prasad say that there is a great deal of disquiet among the scientific community at large about the deal.
They also said they had met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] earlier and discussed about the after-effects of the deal, besides writing to the MPS.
The scientists say the government should not proceed to seek IAEA board approval for the current draft safeguards agreement until its implications are debated completely the country.
Disputing the government's claim about the energy security aspect if the deal is signed, the scientists say it has been quantitatively shown that the additional power will come at a much higher cost per unit of electricity compared to the conventional coal or hydro power, which India can generate without any foreign imports.
In a release, the scientists argue about the repercussions of the nuclear deal.
Here are the excerpts:
"Once the deal is in place, it is also clear that India's commercial nuclear interactions with the US as well as with any other country will be firmly controlled from Washington via the stipulatio
RE:What our top scientist says about Nuclear Deal
by kiainth on Jul 08, 2008 05:22 PM Permalink
of the Hyde Act 2006 enforced through the stranglehold which the US retains on the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Any argument to the effect that the deal will be governed only by the bilateral 123 Agreement is untenable , because this Agreement in turn is anchored in US domestic laws , which include the Hyde Act . And , the Hyde Act contains several stipulations which are extraneous to the issue of bilateral nuclear co-operation , including foreign policy behaviour which India needs to adhere to if the deal is to be kept alive.
The real issue facing India , therefore , is whether or not we want this mythical extra 'energy security ' through this deal , paying almost thrice the unit capital cost of conventional power plants , with the additional burden of subjugating the freedom to pursue a foreign policy and indigenous nuclear R&D programme of our own.
The nuclear deal could also have other serious repercussions, including a potential weakening of India's nuclear deterrent and an inability to protect & promote indigenous R&D efforts in nuclear technology. A combination of the extreme secrecy with which the government has carried forward this deal , the media hype they were able to generate in its favour , the parochial interests of opportunistic individuals & organizations, and the unfortunate ignorance
RE:RE:What our top scientist says about Nuclear Deal
by kiainth on Jul 08, 2008 05:23 PM Permalink
The central issue about the IAEA safeguards agreement has been the doubt as to how "India-specific" these are . In particular , since it is distinctly clear from the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement that no uninterrupted fuel supplies have been guaranteed in these documents for reactors which India will place under safeguards , the government had assured that this defect will be corrected in the safeguards agreement . Since the IAEA was all along known to be no fuel-supply guarantor , there is serious doubt whether Indian negotiators obtained any assurance in this regard.
As per the 123 Agreement , the government has all along asserted that the IAEA safeguards will have "provisions for corrective measures that India may take to ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of foreign fuel supplies. Taking this into account, India will place its civilian nuclear facilities under India-specific safeguards in perpetuity" . The nation would like to know clearly what these "corrective measures" will be , before plunging headlong into this deal . India being merely allowed to withdraw from safeguards the Indian-built PHWRs we may place under safeguards , and that too after stripping them of all spent & fresh fuel and components of foreign origin , is no corrective s
RE:What our top scientist says about Nuclear Deal
by sundar on Jul 08, 2008 05:39 PM Permalink
then why m.s. srinivasan, placid rodriguez, anil kakodkar and our beloved ex-prez kalam are supporting the deal?
