-The Hindu In response to my recent article in The Hindu, “The real questions from Kudankulam” (edit page, September 14, 2012), supporting nuclear power and arguing for an independent regulatory authority, I received much feedback, largely positive, some critical; some of which deserves a response. Many of these points have been made by others, repeatedly, but some are new to me. 1) Independent oversight: Two credible people said that I was too...

-Economic and Political Weekly The recent Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and, more broadly, on nuclear safety regulation has highlighted many serious organisational and operational flaws. The report follows on a series of earlier CAG reports that documented cost and time overruns and poor performance at a number of nuclear facilities in the country. On the whole, the CAG reports offer a powerful indictment of...

-The Hindu ‘What we need is awareness drive and not concern’ Coming out in support of the Union government, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu was safe and there was no need for people living in its surrounding areas to protest. “There is no need for concern on any of the [nuclear] plants… not only Kudankulam but the Kalpakkam atomic power station,...

-The Times of India The Centre on Thursday asserted that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was safe enough to withstand a Fukushima-type disaster but the Supreme Court said it would not hesitate to stop the project irrespective of the amount of money spent on it if the installation was found wanting in safety aspects. During the hearing on a petition filed by G Sundarrajan alleging that 17 safety recommendations by the Centre's...

-NDTV The Supreme Court has said that it will not hesitate in stopping the work at Kudankulam nuclear power plant if it finds that safety measures at the plant in Tamil Nadu are unsatisfactory. The court made these observations while hearing an appeal against the Madras High Court order that allowed fuel loading at the plant. A bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said the safety of plant and...