The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has cleared the proposal for construction of around 15,000 tenements by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board at Perumbakkam.

The clearance follows the TNSCB fulfilling the requirement of constructing an 18-metre-wide road near the multi-storeyed buildings. The move seeks to facilitate the resettlement and rehabilitation of 15,000 families from the city. However, the TNSCB is planning to reduce the number of tenements proposed in the project.

They highlight the adverse impact of the plant on environment

A delegation of antagonists of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in the Tirunelveli District on Wednesday called on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and reiterated its opposition to the project. S.P. Udayakumar, convener of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), told reporters after holding a 15-minute-long meeting with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at the Secretariat here that the delegation explained to her how unsafe the plant was.

The Kundankulam plant has the most advanced reactor and operations and the safety design adopted is sound with “excellent regulations”, R. Chidambaram, principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, said on Tuesday, stressing the role of the plant in fulfilling the country's energy needs.

Dr. Chidambaram, who was the chief guest at the Research Day celebrations at SRM University, said nuclear technology was far cleaner than other non-renewable energy sources as there is no emission of carbon dioxide. Efforts were on to help residents in the vicinity of Kudankulam understand the working of the plant so that they themselves realised how safe it was, he said.

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government-formed four-member expert committee on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), which had earlier ruled the two Russian reactors safe, submitted its report to the state government Tuesday.

Queried about the committee's report and recommendations, Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) former chairman and panel member M.R. Srinivasan told IANS: "The committee has been formed by the state government.

Operation and maintenance to be privatised in Golden Rock zone

In an ambitious attempt to improve energy efficiency and cut down on its power bill, the Tiruchi Corporation has decided to take up a pilot project with private participation to replace all tube lights used for street lighting with light emitting diode (LED) lamps in Golden Rock, one of the four zones in the city.

Cracking down on NGOs using foreign funds to fuel protests against the Koodankulam nuclear project, the government has initiated a probe by asking the CBI and the crime branch of the Tamil Nadu police to register cases against them.

The government has also deported a German national who violated visa norms to assist the agitators. “Cases have been registered against four NGOs for violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act,” Union home secretary R.K. Singh told reporters. While the CBI has registered cases against two NGOs, the crime branch of the Tamil Nadu police has registered cases against two other NGOs.

The four-member committee set up by the Tamil Nadu Government on the safety aspects of Kudankulam nuclear power plant on Tuesday submitted its report to Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa amid indication that it has given a clean chit to the project stalled by protests.

Committee Convenor Prof. S. Iniyan handed over the report to Ms. Jayalalithaa but declined to divulge details, saying the government would take follow up action. “As I said earlier,” Mr. Iniyan said when asked about the committee’s findings on safety aspects.

Wind mill installations going on across the State

With the winds expected to start in two months in the State, wind mill installations are going on across the State. For Coimbatore, wind energy sector has large-scale investments from here and it is also one of the main wind energy sites in Tamil Nadu. Nearly 70 per cent of the installations are in the Palakkad Pass region, covering Thenkasi, Theni, Dinidgul, Udumalpet, Pollachi and Palladam areas, says K. Kasthurirangaian, chairman of the Indian Wind Power Association.

Handling auto waste is emerging as a big issue and the automotive industry should create a ‘disposal chain', similar to supply chain, so that vehicles that ultimately turn into scrap bundles can be effectively disposed of, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, R. Chidambaram, said on Monday.

Delivering the inaugural address at the fourth edition of ‘Automotive R&D trends 2015: automotive technology – mobility as a system', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said that the issue could not be ignored any longer.

Two of the country's top nuclear power experts on Monday hinted that the anti-Kudankulam nuclear power plant agitation was aimed at scuttling India's three-stage nuclear power programme.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Chairman and Managing Director S. K. Jain and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Srikumar Banerjee said that even after all the queries on safety, quality, health and other aspects were answered by experts, people were asking questions about reprocessing of fuel which had nothing to do with the Kudankulam plant.