Manmohan Singh seeks support from Jayalalithaa for Kudankulam project

New Delhi, Oct 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has sought continuing support from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

In a letter to Jayalalithaa following his meeting with an all-party delegation from the state on October 7, Dr. Singh expressed concern over the safety of people living in the vicinity, but also pointed out at the State's power availability concerns and its impact on industrialisation and development.

"Nothing will be done that would threaten the safety or livelihood of any section of society, particularly those living in the vicinity of a project. The delegation raised some technical issues.I conveyed to them that given the nature of the issues raised, it would not be possible to settle them at my meeting with them," he said.

"I have offered that the Central Government will constitute a small group of experts to interact with the representatives of the people of the region to satisfy all their legitimate concerns. This exercise would suitably involve the Government of Tamil Nadu," he added.

He further said the Government would not compromise on safety in the pursuit of nuclear energy programme, be it is in terms of technology, regulation, skilled manpower or emergency preparedness;

Apart from the safety and livelihood aspects, Dr. Singh also mention that Tamil Nadu is one of the most industrialized States of the country whose power requirements are growing constantly.

"Of the 2000 MWe power to be generated by Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Units 1 and 2, the allocation of power to Tamil Nadu is 925 MWe. In case the prospects of availability of this power are suddenly withdrawn this would impact on the state's development and industrialization plans," he added.

The project, which is being set up as a joint collaboration between India and Russia, envisages to build two 1,000 MW type reactors by the end of December 2011.

However, in the wake of the Fukushima incident in Japan, several nuclear projects across India such as one at Jaitapur in Maharashtra have run into rough weather as protesting locals and activists argue that such plants could adversely affect the environment.

There are 20 nuclear reactors in operation in six power plants, generating over 4,000 megawatts of electricity while five other plants are under construction. (ANI)