“Post-Fukushima concerns taken note of”
In its verdict giving the thumbs-up to the Kudankulam nuclear power project, the Madras High Court ruled that the government had taken post-Fukushima concerns while clearing the project and observed that remote possibilities of a disaster could not be cited to abandon a project.
The basic issue before the court was whether the KKNPP had all the required confirmations as per statutory provisions. It dealt with a host of issues relating to the agreements between India and Russia for setting up of the plant, apprehensions that arose following the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, safety measures, temperature of the trade effluent that would be discharged into the sea, earthquakes and safety, spent fuel and environmental safeguards.