The Supreme Court has said the problem of storing spent nuclear fuel from the Kudankulam nuclear power plant has to be “worked out”, possibly with the help of experts from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and officials at the highest level in the Tamil Nadu government, while prima facie disagreeing with the petitioners’ idea of shutting down the nuclear plant through a judicial order as an “extraordinary measure”.
A Bench, led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, asked Tamil Nadu, represented by senior advocate V. Giri and advocate Joseph Aristotle, to come clear on the time schedule for the completion of public hearings by the State regarding the construction of an Away From Reactor (AFR) facility at the Kudankulam plant.
The court also gave the AERB, represented by Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, two weeks' time to file an affidavit on issues including the storage of spent nuclear fuel from the plant without posing a hazard to the public.
