Certain section of population seeks relaxation of ban on tourism; specialists are against any dilution of the scheme

The Tamil Nadu Government’s latest notifications on demarcation of core and buffer zones of three tiger reserves in the State may still require a fine-tuning to strike a balance among ecology protection, tribal welfare and tourism promotion, feel conservationists and wildlife experts. As the demand for relaxation of the ban on tourism becomes shriller in the reserve areas, the specialists are against any dilution of the scheme spelt out in the notifications.

Certain section of population seeks relaxation of ban on tourism; specialists are against any dilution of the scheme

The government’s latest notifications on the demarcation of core and buffer zones of three tiger reserves in the State may still require a fine-tuning to strike a balance among ecology protection, tribal welfare and tourism promotion, feel conservationists and wildlife experts. As the demand for relaxation of the ban on tourism becomes shriller from certain section of the local population in the reserve areas, the specialists are against any dilution of the scheme spelt out in the notifications.

Stepping up pressure, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has reminded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of her demand that the Centre allot the entire 1000 MW to be generated from the first unit of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to the state, and hoped for a 'quick response'.

In a letter to Singh, she recalled her previous communications to him on the issue and pointed out that there was no response to her letters. Noting that the nuclear fuel loading in the plant's first unit was to happen within the next few days, she requested a quick response from him.

Petitions challenge TNPCB and AERB orders

The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice to the Central government on two new writ petitions against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) — one seeking to quash a Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB)’s order of July 23 prescribing the tolerance limit of the project’s trade effluent and the other seeking to declare the AERB’s clearance for Initial Fuel Loading (IFL) as null and void.

With the protest against Koodankulam nuclear power plant entering its second year, the Madras High Court hearing two petitions against the project Thursday came down on union ministers, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

"Hearing the two petitions, the Madras High Court came down heavily on the union ministers, saying that they respect only the Supreme Court and not the other courts. The court also asked how central ministers can announce KKNPP (Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project) commissioning date when a case is being heard," P. Sundararajan, a lawyer, told IANS.

Social activists seek withdrawal of false cases charged against protesters

Condemning the alleged State repression of the democratic rights of the people of Kudankulam, a group of social activists has urged the Tamil Nadu government to drop the ‘false cases’ charged against them and to cancel the prohibitory orders in the area. In a statement issued on the eve of Independence Day, a large number of intellectuals, activists, writers and NGO leaders, including Mahasweta Devi, V.R. Krishna Iyer, Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Vandana Shiva and Swamy Agnivesh, asked the government to put an end to the ‘violent repression of the non-violent struggle at Kudankulam.’

Submit petition to Collector demanding its closure

Around 250 children from the coastal hamlets in Tirunelveli district submitted a petition to Collector R. Selvaraj during the weekly grievance day meeting held at the Collectorate on Monday demanding the trashing of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP). The children, accompanied by a few ladies from their hamlets — Idinthakarai, Koodankulam, Koottapuli, Perumanal and Kooththenkuzhi — said in the petition that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, after ignoring the year-long protest by their parents and elders of their villages, was establishing nuclear reactors near their hamlets without conducting the mandatory disaster management exercise and eliciting public opinion.

If the government decides to bring Kudankulam’s third and fourth units under the purview of the nuclear liability law, which makes suppliers liable for compensation in case of accidents, Russia wil

Taking the tussle between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over Koodankulam Atomic ower Plant project to the next level, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has met Union Power Minister Veerappa Moily to demand an increased share from the project for Kerala.

Citing that Kerala is going through a severe power crisis due to the weak South-West monsoon, Chandy has requested the Power Minister to raise the state’s allocation of power to at least 500 MW instead of the expected 266 MW as per the Gadgil formula.

The Tamil Nadu tourism department is implementing a Rs 450-crore project along with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In the first phase, the department would take up the East Coast circuit followed by the Southern circuit. The main focus will be on improving infrastructure and safety.

The first meeting of the State Level Steering Committee in this regard was held here on Wednesday. Tamil Nadu is one among the four states selected by ADB for the Infrastructure Development Investment Programme for Tourism. TN is the only southern state with the other being Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The programme targets enhanced economic growth and provision of livelihood opportunities for local communities through tourism infrastructure development.