A new system of surveying, using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Electronic Total Stations, is in progress in districts including Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and The Nilgiris, according to Revenue Minister Thoppu N.D. Venkatachalam.

Addressing a conference of State Revenue Ministers in New Delhi on Thursday, Mr. Venkatachalam [the text of whose speech was released in Chennai] said that on a pilot basis one village was chosen and, using the experience gained, the system — Modern Surveying — extended.

Of 17 recommendations of AERB, only six have been complied with, he says

The safety measures recommended by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) are crucial and the Kudankulam nuclear power plant should not be allowed to be commissioned without implementing these measures, argued counsel Prashant Bhushan in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Appearing for petitioner G. Sundararajan, social activist, he submitted before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra that the AERB had recommended 17 safety measures, of which only six were complied with and 11 yet to be put in place.

S P Udayakumar, coordinator of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), who had gone underground on September 11, resurfaced in Koothankuli village in Tamil Nadu today and addressed the media where he declared the people of Idinthakarai would lay siege to the nuclear power plant in Kudankulam.

Udayakumar, who has been issued a non-bailable arrest warrant, said a decision would be taken on laying siege to the plant tomorrow at a meeting at Idinthikarai, according to a statement issued by PMANE.

TPDK, VHP members stage demonstrations

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) will help improve power supply in Tamil Nadu, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, V. Narayanasamy, said here on Monday. Inaugurating a conference organised by the Southern India Mills Association, he said Tamil Nadu faced 4,000 MW shortage in power resulting in six to seven hours of power cut a day in several parts of the State.

Petition says plant should be governed by principle of ‘absolute liability, polluter pays’

A fresh writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, contending that the Kudankulam nuclear power plant could not be commissioned without resolving the issue of Russia’s liability in case of an accident. The public interest litigation petition sought a declaration that the plant, in Tirunelveli district, would be governed by the law of the land, as laid down by the Supreme Court: the ‘absolute liability’ and ‘polluter pays’ principle.

Days after the Supreme Court was moved for disbanding the controversial Koodankulam nuclear power project, a new plea was filed in the top court on Monday seeking direction that the Russian company involved in setting up of the plant in Tamil Nadu pay damages in the event of an accident.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday, states that the Koodankulam nuclear plant should be governed by the law of the land, i.e., the Constitutional principles of absolute liability and the polluter-pays principle.

The Kerala-Kudankulam march led by writers and social activists on Sunday to express solidarity with the anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam was blocked by the police near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at Inchivila.

Kerala Anti-Nuclear Support Group, which organised the march, then tried to bus the activists to the protest site. But this attempt was also derailed when the bus was stopped and asked to return by TN police before Kudankulam.

Based on ground-level report of the 7-member AERB teams carrying scrutiny at the plant

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Thursday said the fuel loading at the first 1000 MWe unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) had not yet begun owing to last minute checks. The AERB would give the final clearance for fuel loading only after a review of the ground-level report of its seven-member team carrying out the scrutiny, S.S. Bajaj, Chairman of AERB, told reporters on the safety measures at the KKNPP. He added that it was the responsibility of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to meet the necessary regulatory parameters.

But agrees to examine risk associated with project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the loading of fuel for the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, but agreed to examine the risk associated to the project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern. "Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that their life would be protected," a bench of judges K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said while posting the matter for hearing on September 20.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay loading of fuel for the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam but agreed to examine the risk associated to the project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern.

“Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that there life would be protected,” a bench of justices K.S. Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said while posting the matter for hearing to September 20, 2012.