The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed in 2017 against the first pour of concrete for units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) without complying with norms on restricting the population growth in the sterilized zone — the area within a 5-km radius of the plant.
Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu rejected the plea filed by environmental activist G. Sundarrajan, who had insisted that norms 5 and 6, found in the annexure to the Siting Consent granted by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on February 9, 2011, must be followed in letter and in spirit before pouring the first concrete.
However, senior counsel Krishna Srinivasan, representing the Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) as well as the Site Director of KKNPP, told the court that his clients had ensured that no public habitation was permitted in the ‘exclusion zone’ located within a 2-km radius of the reactor buildings.
As far as the sterilized zone — which was within a 5-km radius of the exclusion zone — was concerned, he said the NPCIL, along with the Government of Tamil Nadu, had been ensuring that there was only a ‘natural growth’ of population in the sterilized zone around the nuclear power plant, without any incentive for human settlement.
Explaining what he meant by ‘natural growth’, he said the government would not allow any activity such as the setting up of an industry, which could act as an incentive for more people to migrate and settle in the sterilized zone. Only those who had settled in the zone naturally would be allowed to reside there, he added.
Mr. Srinivasan said the desirable population within the sterilized zone was about 20,000, as per the AERB Siting Code. In so far as KKNPP was concerned, there were three villages — Kudankulam, Vijayapathi (Idinthakarai) and Irrukkandurai — within the sterilized zone. The 2001 census showed that their combined population was 23,960.
The census figure was taken into consideration while preparing the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) for KKNPP. The EPP lists the composition of the off-site emergency response coordination committee, comprising 14 district administration officials, including the Collector and the Superintendent of Police, for implementing counter-measures in case of an emergency, he said.
After recording his submissions, the judges said the fact remained that the plant in question was part of the national nuclear policy. The Supreme Court, too, in a detailed judgment delivered on May 6, 2013, had observed that KKNPP complied with all statutory provisions, rules, regulations, safety guidelines and standards set by Indian and foreign expert bodies.
“Moreover, the AERB and Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change would be monitoring the project on a regular basis. Regulatory measures are provided. It is not the case of the petitioner that the authorities concerned have committed dereliction of their duties. In light of the above, the writ petition stands dismissed,” the Bench said.
