From late 2010, farmers and fishermen around Madban in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, protested against a 9,900 MW nuclear power plant to be built with French reactor maker Areva. On 4 December 2010, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in India, thousands formed a human chain at the site. On 18 April 2011, five weeks after Fukushima, police fired on a crowd attacking the Sakhri Nate police station and killed fisherman Tabrez Sayekar. The Centre pressed ahead, compensation was later raised many times over, but as of 2026 no reactor has been built and EDF and NPCIL are still negotiating.
Key takeaways
- Villagers of five villages around Madban and fishermen of Sakhri Nate opposed a 9,900 MW NPCIL plant with French EPR reactors over land, fishing, mangoes, earthquake risk and radiation.
- The project was cleared with 35 conditions days before Sarkozy's December 2010 visit, when NPCIL and Areva signed a framework agreement.
- On 18 April 2011 police fired at Sakhri Nate, killing one man. The state says 600-700 people attacked the police station; his family alleged he was shot again in a police jeep.
- The Centre went ahead with extra safety measures and compensation was raised many times over. As of June 2026, EDF-NPCIL talks "are carrying on".
Background: the project and the five villages
The plant was planned on 938 hectares at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district, with six reactors producing 9,900 MW. It was to be the first project in India after the Nuclear Suppliers Group opened civilian nuclear trade with the country in September 2008 Down To Earth.
The site covers five villages: Madban, Niveli, Karel, Mithgavane and Varliwada Business Today. Of the 938.026 hectares acquired, 692.311 were for the plant and 245.715 for a residential complex. The state handed the land to NPCIL in 2010 Indian Express.
Opposition began over land. Down To Earth reported at the end of 2009 that 407 families in Niveli, Karel and Mithgavane had rejected compensation cheques, some offered as little as Rs 337 per guntha (about 100 square metres). A Niveli villager said he had received Rs 21,796 for 1.3 hectares. A circle officer said every family had been sent notices and that refusing the money would not stop the acquisition Down To Earth.
Fishing families were a second source of opposition. Amjad Borkar of the Machhimar Kruti Samiti said warm water from the plant would destroy marine life, and that fishers would be hit hardest because they own no land. An NPCIL official said coolant water returned to the sea would be only 5°C warmer and would not harm marine life Down To Earth.
The clearance and the French President's visit
The environment ministry granted a conditional environmental clearance by a letter dated 26 November 2010, valid for five years Free Press Journal. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced it with 35 conditions, saying nuclear power was "a clean environment option with low carbon emissions compared to coal" and that he had taken "the middle ground" PTI via Governance Now. He later dated the clearance to 28 November. It came on the eve of Sarkozy's visit, as the plant was to use French reactors and fuel Governance Now.
On 4 December 2010, the day Sarkozy's India visit began, thousands of villagers defied prohibitory orders under Section 144 and formed a human chain at the site, according to Greenpeace India. It quoted local organiser Pradeep Indulkar as saying about 2,000 fishermen gathered at Nate and about 3,000 people protested at Madban. Banners read "No nuclear in Jaitapur" in English, French, Marathi and Hindi Greenpeace India. Outlook described a December 2010 march by nearly 6,000 people across the villages, with sit-ins at police stations and "no less than 1,500" arrests, but no vandalism. Retired Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse Patil, who led the march, was held for five days Outlook.
On 6 December, after talks between Sarkozy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, NPCIL and Areva signed a general framework agreement and an early works agreement for Jaitapur PTI via Governance Now.
Escalation: bans, arrests and politics
The district magistrate passed Section 144 orders between 28 and 30 November and between 3 and 5 December 2010 barring Kolse Patil and activist Vaishali Patil from Ratnagiri. In May 2011 the state told the Bombay High Court it had begun criminal prosecution against both for breaching them. A police affidavit said they had encouraged agitators and that a mob "assaulted the police personnel with sticks, knives, stones" DNA. In November 2011 the High Court held the collector's orders keeping activists out of the district illegal Down To Earth.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray told villagers in December 2010 that the party would keep opposing the project: "We are not against development but will oppose any project that is forced upon the people of that region" Gulf News. When BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and CPI(M) chief Prakash Karat sought a review, Ramesh refused, saying "interest groups should not use environment as a shield" and that some parties had never accepted the India-US nuclear deal PTI via Governance Now.
On 1 March 2011, police arrested Dr Milind Desai of Mithgavane at 2 am, days after he called the government "shameless" at a public meeting addressed by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Business Today reported that he and 10 others were held in a two-month-old case of rioting and attempt to murder, filed after villagers protested the death of Irfan Kazi of Nate, a protest leader they alleged had been run down by a vehicle Business Today. On 11 March 2011 the Fukushima disaster struck Japan, and protesters began citing it IANS via Deccan Herald.
Timeline
Conditional clearance
Environment ministry clears the project with 35 conditions PTI.
Human chain
Thousands defy Section 144 at Madban and Nate as Sarkozy's visit begins Greenpeace India.
Areva deal
NPCIL and Areva sign a general framework agreement PTI.
Night arrests
Dr Milind Desai and 10 others arrested Business Today.
Sena rally
Uddhav Thackeray addresses a large rally after touring the area Outlook.
Nate firing
Clashes at the site and at Sakhri Nate police station; Tabrez Sayekar shot dead WNN.
Bandh and curfew
Sena bandh turns violent; curfew in Ratnagiri city; inquiry announced The Hindu.
Centre goes ahead
PM's meeting clears the first two reactors with extra safety measures The Hindu via Eco-Business.
18 April 2011: the firing at Sakhri Nate
Outlook reported that on the morning of 18 April about 400 villagers, led by Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi, marched to the plant site, threw stones at police, ransacked office sheds and set fire to machinery. Police lathi-charged, fired in the air and arrested about 30 people. About 350 people then gathered at the Nate police station demanding their release, ransacked it and prepared to set it on fire, and police lathi-charged and fired Outlook.
Home Minister R.R. Patil told the Assembly that 600-700 people attacked the station while police were busy with the protest at the site. Officers fired in the air after some were hurt and patrol vehicles were set alight, and then fired into the crowd World Nuclear News. The dead man was a 30-year-old fisherman from Nate. His name appears as Tabrez Sayekar (The Hindu, Indian Express), Tavrez Sejkar (PTI) and Tabrez Abdul Sayanekar (PTI) The Hindu PTI via Morung Express. The Hindu noted he would not lose any land to the project.
Injury figures differ. Superintendent of Police Pradip Raskar said 54 policemen were hurt at Nate, and The Hindu reported 30 people, 16 of them police, were hospitalised. Outlook put the injured at about 80, including 30 police The Hindu Outlook.
Both accounts
Protesters' and family's account
Claim · Family Sayekar's relatives alleged he survived the first bullet and was later shot dead in a police jeep, then taken to hospital in a gunny bag while his wife was not allowed to go with him The Hindu. Konkan Bachao Samiti chief Vaishali Patil said the family would not take the body until the officer who ordered "the police to shoot at the unarmed crowd" was suspended and the project shifted out of Maharashtra IANS via Deccan Herald. Greenpeace's Karuna Raina said that since December "there has been a kind of police state going on in Jaitapur" VOA.
Police and government account
Government's position SP Raskar denied the family's allegations and said Sayekar was prominent in attacking and ransacking the police station before he was hit. He said that without the firing at least 10 to 15 policemen would have died. Collector Madhukar Gaikwad said the firing did not take place instantly The Hindu. The post-mortem, carried out under police guard by five doctors, found three bullet injuries. Police said they had "no option" but to use live ammunition VOA. Chief Minister Chavan called the protests "politically motivated" and blamed "outsiders" The Hindu via Eco-Business.
The Shiv Sena's role
Outlook reported that the Sena claimed leadership of the agitation for the first time in April 2011, after Uddhav Thackeray toured the area and held a rally on 9 April. Patil admitted in the Assembly that intelligence had warned of possible violence Outlook. The Sena's bandh on 19 April shut the district. A mob damaged the post-mortem wing of the district hospital and set buses on fire, and Thackeray said the government would pay a "heavy price" for the firing PTI via Governance Now. Deccan Herald reported 16 Sena workers and a deputy superintendent of police injured, and MLA Rajan Salvi detained Deccan Herald.
Claim · Narayan Rane Industries Minister Narayan Rane, a former Sena leader now in the Congress, told the Assembly the plan to torch the Nate police station was hatched at Sena Bhavan in Mumbai on 12 April Deccan Herald. Kolse Patil told Outlook: "We completely disagree with the kind of agitation the Sena is spearheading" Outlook. The Sena kept its opposition in later years: in December 2015 its MP Sanjay Raut said the party's stand "would continue" Free Press Journal.
The government's response
Patil announced an inquiry into the firing and into whether the protests were "politically motivated and part of a pre-planned conspiracy" PTI via Morung Express. PTI called it a magisterial inquiry and Deccan Herald a judicial probe Deccan Herald. We found no published findings. The opposition demanded Rs 25 lakh for the family and suspension of the officer who ordered the firing.
On 26 April 2011, a meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh cleared two 1,650 MW reactors as a first phase, with stand-alone safety systems, a promised independent nuclear regulator, publication of post-Fukushima safety reviews, an IAEA review team and a "generous new compensation package" The Hindu via Eco-Business. Ramesh had said the government was not about to "rethink" the project, VOA reported VOA.
Compensation
In June 2011 the state cleared Rs 10 lakh per acre, up from NPCIL's Rs 5 lakh, for 2,335 project-affected persons, and said no family would be displaced from its home Business Standard. In February 2013 it approved an ex-gratia of Rs 22.5 lakh per hectare, which the Indian Express said was more than 80 times the original amount. By December 2013, 1,484 of 2,336 landholders had taken cheques, up from fewer than 300 in March. The package also promised one job or Rs 5 lakh per family, and Rs 2 crore per village for amenities Indian Express. In September 2013 Janhit Seva Samiti founder Pravin Gavankar stopped opposing the project and raised 25 resettlement demands, including withdrawal of police cases. The Sena, Konkan Bachao Samiti and fishermen said they would keep protesting Business Standard.
Outcome
- Death: One protester, Tabrez Sayekar, killed in police firing on 18 April 2011.
- Arrests: More than 1,500 in December 2010 (Outlook); about 30 at the site on 18 April 2011; Sena leaders detained on 19 April.
- Prosecutions: Criminal cases against Kolse Patil and Vaishali Patil for breaching entry bans; in September 2013 the state said it would consider withdrawing cases against villagers Business Standard.
- Inquiry: Announced in April 2011; no findings found in public reporting.
- Policy: Project kept; first phase limited to two reactors; compensation raised to Rs 22.5 lakh per hectare.
Where things stand in 2025-26
Areva signed a pre-engineering agreement with NPCIL in April 2015. World Nuclear News said plans had stalled over India's 2010 liability law, which could make suppliers liable for accidents World Nuclear News. EDF, which took over the project from Areva, signed an Industrial Way Forward Agreement with NPCIL in March 2018 and in April 2021 submitted a binding techno-commercial offer for six EPRs (9.6 GWe). EDF would supply technology but not invest or build; NPCIL would construct, own and operate the plant World Nuclear News. In May 2022 Modi and Macron "reaffirmed the commitment" to the project World Nuclear News.
The 2010 environmental clearance lapsed in November 2015 by activists' account, and NPCIL sought an extension Free Press Journal. In June 2026, after Modi met Macron in Paris, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said EDF-NPCIL talks on technical and financial aspects "are carrying on". Nuclear Engineering International reported that the 2025 SHANTI Act, which replaced the 2010 liability law, had eased the main obstacle, and that the design is now six reactors of 1,730 MW each Nuclear Engineering International. No construction contract had been reported by October 2026.
Questions people ask
Why did people protest against the Jaitapur nuclear plant?
Villagers in five villages objected to losing farmland and orchards for low compensation. Fishermen feared warm water discharge and security zones would end their livelihood. Protesters also cited earthquake risk and radiation, concerns that grew after Fukushima in March 2011.
What happened at Sakhri Nate on 18 April 2011?
After a clash at the plant site, a crowd attacked the Nate police station. The Home Minister said 600-700 people were involved. Police fired and killed fisherman Tabrez Sayekar. His family alleged he was shot again in a police jeep, which police denied.
What was the protest during Sarkozy's visit?
On 4 December 2010, thousands formed a human chain at the site in defiance of Section 144, according to Greenpeace India. Outlook reported over 1,500 arrests in the December march. Two days later NPCIL and Areva signed a framework agreement.
What role did the Shiv Sena play?
The Sena opposed the project from 2010 and took a lead role in April 2011, when its MLA led the march to the site and it called a district bandh after the firing. A Congress minister accused it of planning the police station attack. Other protest groups criticised its violent turn.
How much compensation was paid?
Initial rates were as low as Rs 25,000 per hectare by NPCIL sources. The state raised it to Rs 10 lakh per acre in 2011 and an ex-gratia of Rs 22.5 lakh per hectare in 2013. By December 2013, 1,484 of 2,336 landholders had collected cheques.
Has the Jaitapur nuclear plant been built?
No. As of 2026 EDF and NPCIL are still negotiating. India's 2025 SHANTI Act changed the liability rules that had stalled the deal, but no final contract has been reported.
Sources
- Down To Earth: Nuclear plant triggers reaction, Dec 2009
- PTI via Governance Now: Jaitapur N-plant gets envi clearance, 29 Nov 2010
- Greenpeace India: Villagers protest Jaitapur nuclear plant, 4 Dec 2010
- PTI via Governance Now: India inks deal with France for nuclear reactors, 6 Dec 2010
- Gulf News: Shiv Sena offers support to nuclear plant protesters, 21 Dec 2010
- PTI via Governance Now: MoEF refuses to review clearance to Jaitapur plant, 29 Dec 2010
- Governance Now: Jairam sees BJP, CPM hand in Jaitapur protests, 30 Dec 2010
- Business Today: Jaitapur protest, villagers arrested, 1 Mar 2011
- World Nuclear News: Man killed in clash with police, 21 Apr 2011
- IANS via Deccan Herald: Jaitapur protester's family refuses to claim body, 19 Apr 2011
- PTI via Governance Now: Jaitapur protests turn violent, mob ransacks hospital, 19 Apr 2011
- PTI via Morung Express: Jaitapur project, Sena bandh turns violent, Apr 2011
- Deccan Herald: Bundh against killing turns ugly, 19 Apr 2011
- The Hindu (via India Environment Portal): Curfew imposed in Ratnagiri, 20 Apr 2011
- VOA: Protest escalates at proposed Indian nuclear site, 19 Apr 2011
- The Hindu via Eco-Business: Green signal to Jaitapur, 27 Apr 2011
- Outlook: Jaitapur, Level 7, Apr 2011
- DNA (via India Environment Portal): Maharashtra govt prosecutes 2 anti-Jaitapur activists, 5 May 2011
- Business Standard (via India Environment Portal): Maharashtra govt clears Rs 10 lakh per acre payment, 1 Jun 2011
- Down To Earth: Jaitapur nuclear protests, activist leader gets externment notice, 19 Jan 2012
- Business Standard (via India Environment Portal): Maharashtra govt to hold fresh talks with affected people, 2 Sep 2013
- Business Standard: Flush with cash, Jaitapur villagers mull investments, 9 Sep 2013
- Indian Express (via India Environment Portal): 61 pc opt for new land compensation deal, 24 Dec 2013
- World Nuclear News: Areva signs Jaitapur agreements, 13 Apr 2015
- Free Press Journal: Jaitapur nuke project's eco clearance lapses, 2 Dec 2015
- Free Press Journal: Jaitapur N-plant seeks extension of green nod, 4 Dec 2015
- World Nuclear News: EDF submits offer for Jaitapur project, 23 Apr 2021
- World Nuclear News: France and India aim to progress EPR project in coming months, 5 May 2022
- Nuclear Engineering International: India opens nuclear sector to France, 22 Jun 2026