The Unit-1 of Kudankulam nuclear power project is at an advanced stage of commissioning. Permission for initial fuel loading and first approach to criticality was accorded by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board on August 10, said Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, V Narayanasamy.

After completion of fuel loading, being taken up now, in the reactor, activities to approach the first criticality (start of the fission chain reaction for the first time), a major milestone, would start after which full power operation of the unit would be achieved, the minister informed the Rajya Sabha.

Board is yet to develop 27 out of the 168 safety documents despite recommendations by two panels in 1987 and 1997

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Wednesday pulled up the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for not preparing a nuclear and radiation safety policy for the country despite receiving a specific mandate to do so in the order constituting the Board as far back as 1983. In a scathing report tabled in Parliament, the CAG also noted that the Board had yet to develop 27 out of the 168 safety documents despite recommendations made by two panels in 1987 and 1997 that the process of developing safety documents be expedited.

New Delhi: In case of a nuclear accident in India at present, the maximum fine that can be imposed by the regulator on an offending nuclear plant is Rs 500.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has reminded him of her earlier demand that the Centre allot the entire 1000 MW to be generated from the first

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.

The Madras High Court on Thursday expressed displeasure over the “disregard” shown for it by the Centre, state governments and petitioners in the Koodankulam nuclear power project.

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.’