On August 23, 2013, Union Minister V Narayanaswamy said that the controversial Kundankulam nuclear reactor in India will begin generating 1000 MW of power by the end of October 2013. The first unit of the plant will add 1000 MW to the southern grid and will help the state of Tamil Nadu over its power crisis to a significant extent.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minster’s office stated that the nuclear power program in India cannot be questioned and added that a misinformation campaign was launched by a few NGOs in the area about the plant’s safety. The minister at a press conference said, “Some organisations in Kudankulam, are very active. But we took it on, we failed them and I personally went there. The plant has seven layers safety system”.
The Kundankulam project was so far hindered with delays due to protests by locals over safety concerns, however, the Supreme Court gave the green light to the project on May 6, 2013. Meanwhile, the minister also announced that the country’s first fast breeder reactor at Kalpakam was 97 percent complete and the work is expected to be completed by early 2014.
Narayanaswamy has also expressed favor in reducing the time frame for setting up of nuclear power plants, with 17 permissions which are currently required before the initiation of the project.
Photo Credits: In Today
