Nuke row: Tamil Nadu panel member endorses Central group's findings

CHENNAI: Virtually endorsing the 15-member Central expert group's findings giving the thumbs up to stir- hit Kudankulam nuclear project, senior atomic scientist and state panel member on the issue M R Srinivasan has said all concerns of locals over safety aspects have been answered.

"We have reviewed all concerns raised by the protestors in our report. We also analysed the central expert group committee's report, which has answered all 44 questions raised by protestors. We found the report satisfactory," Srinivasan, former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, told reporters.

Srinivasan, who is on the four-member committee set up by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to break the over five month-long impasse caused by anti-nuclear stir, said the Central expert group had answered all questions raised by the locals.

He, however, declined to divulge details of the report submitted by the state committee recently to Jayalalithaa.

Srinivasan's endorsement of the central group's findings is significant as it indicates that both the committees are on the same wave length on the issue, which is expected to give a push for the stalled Indo-Russian project, originally slated for commissioning in December last year.

The Central expert group, which held several rounds of talks with leaders spearheading the agitation, had stated categorically on January 31 that it had "conclusively addressed" all safety related issues to allay fears in the minds of locals around the plant in coastal Kudankulam.