Respect Cabinet resolution on project, says TN

Tamil Nadu has sent out a stern message to the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), saying it must respect a recent state government resolution that asked the Centre to stop the work at the controversial Kudankulam project in the southern state.

Further, the district administration of down-state Tirunelveli, under which Kudankulam falls, has informed the functionaries at the site that it would not provide security cover for the transportation of its employees to the plant. The message has been conveyed to the site director, NPC chairman and managing director S K Jain said on Monday.

“The Tamil Nadu government has verbally asked us to respect its (September 22) cabinet resolution,” he told Business Standard. “Also, the district administration has expressed inability to provide support and police protection for the entry of NPC employees during the ongoing blockade by villagers.”

Jain said the city-based NPC had repeatedly sought written orders from the state and district authorities, but have yet to get one. Jain said NPC’s recent attempt to take a contingent of a large number of its employees in the presence of the Central Industrial Security Force personnel did not go down well with the state administration.

“We were first told that the situation would be normal after the panchayat elections of October 22. And that we would, thereafter, be allowed to take the staff into the plant. However, only 40-50 employees are currently allowed only in the evenings to enter the plant. That is not sufficient for keeping the system running,” he added.

The project development has been halted, but the maintenance of the plant was “essential” to avoid its degradation. Jain said the NPC staff could not go to the site since October 13 till date due to the road blockade and subsequent step-up in the stir.

The contract labourers inside the labour colony also could not go to the workplace in the absence of supervision by any security staff.

As many as 58 staff families, 125 bachelor staff and 800-odd contract labourers of L&T and roughly 70 contract labourers of Cawpore had got stranded inside the labour colony within the plant premises. Continuous agitation subsequently has prompted these workers and staff to start leaving the labour colony.