Kudankulam plant is safe, govt can make it operational: SC

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu is safe and there is no basis to say that it will have adverse impact on the environment and people living near the site, the Supreme Court today said bringing the protracted litigation on the project to an end and clearing the deck to make it operational.
A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said that nuclear plants are the need of the hour and they are required for sustained economic development of the country.
"Justification for establishing KKNPP at Kudankulam, therefore has been vindicated and all safety and security measures have already been taken, necessary permissions and clearances have been obtained from all statutory authorities," the bench said.

"Apprehension expressed by some sections of the public that if the units are commissioned or put into operation, it will have far reaching consequences, not only on the present generation, but also on the future generation, of the possible radioactive effects of the units, in our view has no basis," it said.
The apex court said that apprehension expressed by few people cannot be a ground for scrapping the project which is needed for larger welfare and public interest of people of this country.
"Apprehension, however, legitimate it may be, cannot override the justification of the project. Nobody on this earth can predict what would happen in future and to a larger extent we have to leave it to the destiny. But once the justification test is satisfied, the apprehension test is bound to fail," the bench said.