Brushing aside the bogey of security hazards as raised by activists opposed to the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for the project but reminded the Centre to abide by the 15-point safety guidelines proposed by it in larger public good.
Disposing the PIl filed by G Sundarrajan, a Bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra felt that there was no need to stall the project as it will not have negative impacts on environment and people living near the project site. It laid down 15 guidelines on commissioning, safety and security and environmental issues concerning the plant.
The apex court said that the plant should not be made operational unless Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIl), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) accord final clearance and ensure the quality of various components for safety.
“Nuclear energy is now considered in India as a sustainable source of energy and India cannot afford to be a nuclear isolated nation,” the Bench said in its judgment, adding that apprehension expressed by few people cannot be a ground for scrapping the project.
“For setting up the project, the project proponent has taken all safety requirements in site and off site and has followed the code of practices laid down by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), based on nationally and internationally recognised safety methods,” the Bench said.
The court noted that public money running into crores of rupees had been spent for the development, control and use of atomic energy. “We have, therefore, to balance economic scientific benefits with that of minor radiological detriments on the touchstone of our national nuclear policy. Economic benefit, we have already indicated has to be viewed on a larger canvas which not only augment our economic growth but alleviate poverty and generate more employment,” the bench said.
The apex court directed NPCIl (project operator) and AERB to make periodical inspection of the plant at least once in three months and if any defect is noticed, the same has to be rectified forthwith. NPCIl was further directed to ensure the radioactive discharges to the environmental aquatic atmosphere and terrestrial route should not cross the prescribed limits.