Instruct NPCIL to restart Kudankulam soon, Jayalalithaa asks centre

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on Saturday urged the central government to instruct Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to restart the first 1,000 MW atomic power plant at Kudankulam and also expedite commercial operation of the second unit.

She made the demand in her speech, read out by state Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam, at the 26th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada.

Noting the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) which had started commercial operations on December 31, 2014, has been shut down for maintenance from June 24, 2015, she said the NPCIL is yet to clearly indicate when the unit-I will recommence power generation and requested that it be told to do early to meet the state's grid demand.

"Further, we have been informed that Kudankulam Unit-II is undergoing final stages of commissioning activities and awaiting approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for full commercial production," she said, also requesting this be expedited "so that another 563 MW of power can be added to the Tamil Nadu Grid at the earliest".

NPCIL is setting up two 1,000 MW atomic power plants at Kudankulam in Tirunelvelli district around 650km from here.

The NPCIL has fixed revised target as December 25, 2015 for restarting generation at the first unit.

The start up process for second unit's approach to criticality is expected to happen during the first quarter of 2016-2017, the NPCIL said. On the environment clearances for laying transmission lines, Jayalalithaa said the regulations have be simplified.

On the movement of Maoist cadres in the tri-junction area of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka she said the state has been taking proactive steps in this regard to curb this menace.

"My government has already requested the ministry of home affairs to include the Nilgiris District in the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) list. We have also requested the reimbursement of security expenditure amounting to Rs.2.4 crore and the sanction of Rs.10.11 crore under Integrated Action Plan (IAP) to create infrastructure and service facilities for security agencies," she said.

Jayalalithaa also urged the central government to sanction Rs.1,520 crore for promoting deep sea tuna fishing among the fishermen.