Madras HC: Notice to Centre on KKNPP units 3 & 4

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar before whom the PIL came up, ordered notice and posted the matter for further hearing to September 15.

The petitioner G Sundarrajan, Managing Trustee, Poovulagin Nanbargal, has contended that the basic goal of a nuclear power project is to locate the reactor in a relatively low population zone. But not withstanding this and the prescribed regulation that the population should not exceed 20,000 within 5 km from the site, which is considered a Sterilised Zone, three are three villages _ Kudankulam, Viajaypathi and Erukkandurai within the sterilised zones of KKNPP units 3 to 6 having a population of 28, 397 (as per 2011 census).

Pointing out that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) ought not to have granted consent to the site in questions, said the move was utterly violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Also, the petitioner while referring to the order of Madras High Court on October 30, 2014, said, “Despite the optimism expressed by the high court about strict compliance of all the prescribed norms, AERB and others involved in the project have failed to consider the conditions that the ‘Exclusion Zone’ around the plant shall be established with required control and an area of 5 km radius around the plant shall be designated as Sterilized Zone.”