SC to pronounce verdict on Kudankulam on Monday

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday pronounce its verdict on a plea seeking stay on commissioning of the controversial Kudankulam nuclear plant and its scrapping.

A bench of Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra, which had reserved the verdict following marathon arguments in the last three months, will deliver its judgement. A batch of petitions was filed by anti-nuclear activists challenging the project on the ground that safety measures recommended for the plant by an expert body have not been put in place. They also raised various questions pertaining to the disposal of nuclear waste, the plant`s impact on the environment and the safety of people living nearby, besides other issues linked to the controversial plant. The Centre, Tamil Nadu government and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, which operates the plant, had refuted all the allegations on safety and security aspects. They had submitted that the plant is completely safe and can withstand any kind of natural disaster and external terrorist attack. The bench, on the first date of hearing on September 13, 2012, had refused to stay the loading of fuel for the plant but had agreed to examine the risk associated with the project, saying the safety of people in its vicinity is its key concern. PTI