Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM writes to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa after meeting all party delegation

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has written to Chief Minister of Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu after meeting the all party delegation from the state.

The text of the Prime Minister's lettr to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minster is as follows:

I write in continuation of my letter of 4 October, 2011 regarding the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

As requested by you, I met the delegation from Tamil Nadu led by Thiru O. Panneerselvam, Minister of Finance, Government of Tamil Nadu on 7 October, 2011 which included some persons from the local area around Kudankulam. The delegation presented a Memorandum signed by you and others.

I 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. The delegation raised some technical issues.I conveyed to them that given the nature of the issues raised, it would not be possible to settle them at my meeting with them. I have offered that the Central Government will 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 Government of Tamil Nadu.

Apart from the safety and livelihood aspects, where the Government and the people are on the same side, I also took the opportunity to mention that Tamil Nadu is one of the most industrialized States of the country whose power requirements are growing constantly. Of the 2000 MWe power to be generated by Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Units 1 and 2, the allocation of power to Tamil Nadu is 925 MWe. In case the prospects of availability of this power are suddenly withdrawn this would impact on the state's development and industrialization plans.

I have separately directed the Department of Atomic Energy to maintain close liaison with the local people, the local authorities and the State Government.

I look forward to your continuing support for the Kudankulam Project.