UCIL's new mines in Meghalaya and AP soon : Gupta

Jamshedpur, June 5 (UNI) The new mines of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) will come up soon in Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh, UCIL chairman and managing director Ramendra Gupta said.

Addressing 'Meet the Press', organised by Jamshedpur Press Club on the occasion of World Environment Day here today, Mr Gupta said the open cast uranium mine at Domiasiat in Meghalaya's Khasi hills would begin in 2007.

He said the UCIL had invested Rs 14.60 crore for the Meghalaya project, which was dealyed due to protests of local people for adequate rehablitation package.

Mr Gupta said the UCIL would also set up a Uranium Processing Plant with a cost of Rs 637.47 crore at Lambarpeddaguttu and another mine at Pummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, the UCIL had chalked out plans to begin minning in some places in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhatisgarh and Rajasthan, Mr Gupta said.

Talking about the UCIL's mining in and around Jadugoda in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, Mr Gupta said UCIL had already invested Rs 650 crore for the new uranium mining in the state.

He said while in Turamdih, Narwa Pahar, Bhatin and Jadugoda mining is already going on, the three mines-Bagjata, Banduhurang and Mohuldih are under construction.

Mr Gupta said setting up more nuclear power plants in the country has been a challenge before us. He said at present 15 nuclear power plants producing 4020 MW power while the government set a target to produce 10,180 MW nuclear power by the completion of eleventh five-year plan and 20,000 MW by 2020.

To a question Mr Gupta denied that radiation was being emitted from the processing unit of Jadugoda plant and said UCIL had taken adequate measures to make the environment pollution free.

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