Rs 83 Crore Sanctioned For Dpr Of Kudunkulum N-Power Project

The government has finally kicked off the Rs 14,000 crore Russia-aided Kudunkulum nuclear power project by allocating Rs 83 crore for a detailed project report (DPR) to be prepated over the next two years.

The most ambitious nuclear power project in the country so far, the 2,000mw Kudunkulum project has been criticised by the Planning Commission for its high cost of generation.

The government has nevertheless pushed it through with the detailed project report sanction coming in the supplementary demand for grants approved by Parliament yesterday.

The detailed project report is to be conducted jointly by Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) and the Russian Atomic Energy Agency which will supply all critical equipment, fuel and design besides technical consultancy to execute the project. India has purchased the light water plant for an unspecified price, rumoured to be Rs 1,000 crore for the Russian agencys input.

Nuclear Power Corporation was to earlier buy the plant in a knocked-down condition but changed its terms to technical assistance only when former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda signed a deal with Russia last year.

Official sources have stated that the project has drawn flak from various quarters of the government for its cost, substantially higher than thermal power projects of similar generation capacity.

The long gestation period of the project 13 years will further push up the cost.

Experts have estimated that the esclation would be around 50 per cent over the entire timeframe, that is, if the plant gets going in the alloted ten-year period.

However, given the long delays associated with nuclear power projects in India, completing the Kudunkulum project on time, to be funded entirely out of budgetary support, looks suspect.

In comparison, the Kaiga project, whose capacity is a mere 220 mw, is already five years behind schedule.

The twin 1,000 mw plants that constitute the Kudunkulum project are to come up in a village by the same name in Tamil Nadu. Environmentalists are already gearing up to oppose the project as a large part of the project land falls within the limits of a reserve forest.

The Kaiga plant had faced substantial local opposition before it was finally allowed to take off in 1988.

Later a cracked reactor dome delayed work for over two years.

The United States has already declared its opposition to the Kudunkulum project, pressuring the Russians to abandon the deal with India invoking international agreements like the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime.