Kudankulam Nuclear Plant can be stopped if safety concerns are not met, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant could face decommissioning if safety concerns of the local people are not met. The remark was greeted with cautious optimism by groups protesting at the plant, who nevertheless stuck to their plans to lay siege to it on October 8.

Hearing arguments of advocate Prashant Bhushan, on behalf of the protesting organizations like the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, the court said, "it is a serious matter and we are taking it seriously. Everyone is concerned with the safety of the people around the plant. If we are not satisfied with the safety, we can stop it."

Bhushan had claimed many changes had been made in the Kudankulam plant since 1989, when environmental clearance was last given.

On August 31, the Madras HC had allowed the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to load fuel in the plant's first reactor. At that time, activists opposing the commissioning of the plant challenged the order in SC.

PMANE leader SP Udayakumar told ET that although the group welcomed SC's observation as 'pro-people,' his organisation had charted out an extensive programme of protest.

"We welcome the Supreme Court's observation; it is pro-people and the court has stood by the tenet that the amount of money spent on the plant is less important than people's safety. But the Madras HC had also made similar observations but later gone on to endorse the reports of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and the Tamil Nadu pollution boards on the plant," he said.