In response to a request by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa, the Prime Minister today received an all party delegation led by Shri O. Pannerselvam, Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu which presented a Memorandum to Dr. Manmohan Singh on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project. The delegation also included some persons from the local area of Kudankulam.

The Prime Minister conveyed to the delegation that:

(i) The Central Government attaches the highest importance to ensuring that the use of nuclear energy in the country meets the highest safety standards;

(ii) The Government fully shares the concerns of the people of the area and will take all steps to allay their fears;

(iii) The Government will not compromise on safety in the pursuit of our nuclear energy programme, be it is in terms of technology, regulation, skilled manpower or emergency preparedness;

(iv) Nothing will be done that would threaten the safety or livelihood of any section of society, particularly those living in the vicinity of a project.

It was agreed that since the issues raised were technical in nature and required in-depth discussion, the Central Government would constitute a small group of experts to interact with the representatives of the people of the region to satisfy all their legitimate concerns. This exercise would suitably involve the State Government of Tamil Nadu. It was clarified on behalf of the Central Government that the nuclear plant in question is still to be operationalized, and no nuclear processes have begun.