15.9.12

SC on Kudankulam


The Supreme Court did not stay the fuel loading process at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, set to be operational in two months, but firmly told the Centre that it would scrutinize safety issues afresh to assure itself that the plant posed no danger to people living around it.
The bench, mindful of the court’s fundamental role as the “guardian of the citizen’s fundamental rights”, asked the Centre whether it had implemented, at Kudankulam, its own taskforce’s 17 safety recommendations to plug safety shortcomings that possibly caused the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The Centre said 11 of the 17 recommendations were in the nature of “abundant caution” and their non-implementation was not going to affect plant safety. But the bench said it was not going to brush aside any safety issue.
“Public interest and safety standards are paramount. Millions of people are living around the nuclear plant. Many of them are illiterate. Their lives cannot be put in danger,” the bench said and asked attorney general G E Vahanvati when the plant would be operational. The AG said the nuclear plant would be operational within two months of completing the fuel loading process, which was going on.
The petitioner’s counsel said the 17 safety recommendations were approved by the AERB, which in its affidavit before the Madras HC had promised that the Kudankulam plant would not be made operational before all safety-related suggestions were implemented. However, AERB has given clearance to the initial fuel loading exercise, he said. The court set September 20 as the date for further hearing.

1 comment:

Rahul Shayar said...

A foolish thing that people are in strike of fearing Neuclear Radiation.. The real fact is that the price for installation and operating ! To hide this we would suspect the play is of ruling party itself !