Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh): A delegation of "Scientists for the people" have written an open letter to the Member of Parliament (MP) from Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa, Avinash Reddy, demanding that a referendum be held on the expansion of the uranium refinery in the Vemula Mandal of the Kadapa district.
The demand for referendum takes importance in light of an inspection by the Ministry of Environment in December 2016, which revealed that the factory had violated environmental permit rules.
The UCIL has been accused of non-compliance with the conditions precedent to the Environment Clearance (EC) issued by your Ministry for the first stage of the uranium mining project, as a result of which the people residing in the mining area have got exposed to toxicity.
"UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Limited) lie... that they had laid standard barriers at the bottom of the pond set up for storage of waste from the factory. The authorities did not care if the groundwater was polluted by this factory and the crops were destroyed. State Pollution Control Board has handed over the responsibility of the study on the effects arising with this factory to IIT Madras one year ago... there is no update on study till now. UCIL has not yet corrected a single error. Under such circumstances, it was announced that a referendum would be held on January 6, 2021, for the expansion of the factory. Now the company will not implement any of them... if referendum takes place. The opportunity for the people will be lost," they said in the letter.
Also read: Toxic foam scatters over bridge in Madurai's Sellur
Retired IAS officer E.A.S Sharma also wrote a letter to Union Environment, Forests and Climate Change Secretary RP Gupta on Sunday seeking an inquiry on Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) for violating environmental permits.
