HC issues notice to Centre, TNPCB on Kalpakkam plant issue

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on a PIL seeking to direct the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Station to get environmental clearance.

The plea, referring to a recent Supreme Court judgement, said without due clearance from AEC, AERB, and NPCIL besides statutory authorities like Ministry of Environment and Forests and TNPCB, units dealing with radioactive materials cannot be allowed to function.

The PIL filed by advocate Vetrti Selvan submitted that there are two atomic power projects, about 70 km from Chennai, which started functioning from 1983 and 1985.

He claimed in 1999, there was a mishap reported of heavy water leak, and in 2001 there was another complaint on internal contamination.

The following year there was another complaint that workers were injured on touching radio active material.

Referring to a report of A Gopalakrishnan, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), counsel for the petitioner submitted that information received from RTI reveals that the atomic power plants have not implemented recommendations of the Task Committee of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

He also submitted that the AERB report says environmental clearance was not obtained for storage of spent fuel.

He argued that these units, which are continuing operation for the past 30 years, is keeping "unstoppable and unstorable" nuclear waste which will always have environmental impact.

The First Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice R K Agrawal and Justice M Sathyanarayanan before whom the PIL came up, ordered issue of notice to Centre and TNPCB.