Row over Kudankulam nuclear plant reaches Supreme Court

Row over Kudankulam nuclear plant reaches Supreme CourtSocial activist G Sundarrajan filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) with the Supreme Court of India, seeking the apex court's order to restrain the government from commissioning the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).

The SPL filed through counsels Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva, claimed that the Madras High Court had given a green signal to the KKNPP without ensuring that critical safety features are put in place or not.

The petition pointed out that the government has cleared the Russian company, which has supplied nuclear reactors, of any accountability in case of a mishap. It said absolving a company of any accountability in case of an accident is in complete violation of the absolute liability principle developed by the Supreme Court.

The petition also accused the government of pushing the nuclear project through without taking concerns like safety, costs and environmental impact into consideration.

The petition claimed, "It is absolutely clear that the government intends to push the project through without any consideration of the safety, costs, environmental impact and other concerns regarding the project."

On Monday, the protests turned violent and a fisherman, Anthony Raj of Manapad village, lost his life in police firing.

Responding to aggressive protests, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that some foreign NGOs are improperly supporting the protests against the nuclear plant. However, he declined to name any country or NGO.