The Rewa nuclear power plant protest intensified after a tribal woman died amid an agitation against two proposed 220 MW units in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, with her family linking the death to the protest and the district administration rejecting that connection. The proposed project has also triggered concerns over land, water, public health and environmental safety in nearby villages.
Vimla Kol, a resident of Sarai, had reportedly participated in a ‘jal satyagraha’ for four days, according to local reports and her husband Yamuna Kol. The protest involves remaining immersed in water up to the neck as a symbolic demonstration. Her husband alleged that she returned home after taking part in the protest on Wednesday evening, later went out again and did not return. The family subsequently found her dead, he said.
Yamuna Kol, who is also participating in the agitation, said he would resume the protest after completing her last rites. Protesters have said the jal satyagraha will continue indefinitely until the proposed project is cancelled.
The Rewa district administration disputed the family’s account. Collector Narendra Suryavanshi told The Times of India that officials sought a report after learning about the death and found that Kol had neither participated in the protest nor died because of it. He also said that work on the proposed plants had not begun and that only a feasibility study was being carried out.
The project envisages two nuclear power units of 220 MW each, with an estimated investment of Rs 28,000 crore. Sources cited in the report said the units were initially proposed in the Sarai Kala panchayat and could require around 506 hectares of land. The administration said no land had been acquired so far and that the project remained at the preliminary assessment stage.
Residents of Lalgaon village held protests on Friday, raising concerns about the proposed project’s implications for land, water, public health and the environment. The dispute therefore extends beyond the immediate question of whether construction has started: villagers are contesting the project during its assessment and planning phase, before any reported land acquisition.
Social activist Shivanand Dwivedi claimed that the local gram sabha had rejected the proposal twice and passed resolutions against it. He also alleged that a no-objection certificate issued in the name of the Sarai Kala sarpanch was forged, saying the sarpanch had written to officials about the matter. Dwivedi cited safety, environmental and radiation-related concerns and called for the project to be cancelled. These allegations were reported by The Times of India and were not independently established in the supplied material.
The death has also drawn political criticism. Congress Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar accused the BJP-led state government of ignoring tribal villagers’ concerns, while state Congress president Jitu Patwari said projects should not proceed without the consent of tribal communities or without protecting their safety and rights. The administration’s stated position remains that the project is undergoing feasibility assessment, with no land allotted and no construction underway.
