The power generation capacity enhancement witness by India in the past ten years is higher than what the country achieved in the previous fifty-five years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

Laying the foundation stone for a nuclear power plant in Haryana's Fatehabad district on Monday, Mr. Singh said that the Congress-led UPA Government had laid loads of emphasis on improving the country's power generation capacity.

He also stressed that his government had also ensured that the local people would get maximum benefit from nuclear power plants.

Speaking on the topic, he said, "The power generation capacity enhancement in the last 10 years is higher than what was achieved in the previous 55 years since independence . We have also ensured that the local people would get maximum benefit from the nuclear power plant."

The nuclear project being set up in Haryana's Fatehabad district is the one-of-its-kind 2,800 MW nuclear power plant, with the technology developed by the Indian scientists.

The upcoming power project would consist of four nuclear reactors of 700 MW each. Two reactors would likely be commissioned over the next 6-7 years.

The project, however, will have to overcome many hurdles to achieve the set targets. The proposal to use water from the Bhakra Dam for the nuclear plant is being opposed by farmers on the ground that it would affect supply of water for drinking and irrigation.