Chennai: A top Russian envoy on Wednesday claimed
some of the anti-nuclear protestors agitating against
commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP)
might have "vested interests with foul designs."
"People may object because they don't know...(about
safety aspects)...Some of them have vested
interests...objecting because they have some foul design.
There are such people," Russian Ambassador to India Alexander
M Kadakin told reporters here on the sidelines of a function
here.
He opined that not everybody around India or in the
country wished it well. "Russia wishes it well. We want to
help you kill the power deficit."
Kakadin pointed out that there has been a two-month delay
in commissioning KNPP even after Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's statement at Moscow last November that the first unit
would be operationalised soon. "So far two months have passed.
Well it does not depend on us."
Any further delays, he said, would only lead to cost
overruns. "That's why if you don't want to spend more money,
it has to be commissioned right away."
Asked if Russia would pressure the Tamil Nadu government
to break the logjam, he said "We are in touch with the Central
government, which has sanctioned funds for the joint venture.
"So if Tamil Nadu wants power, they should commission it
as soon as possible and not drag it on indefinitely."
Vouching for full power supply from the plant, he pointed
out that Tamil Nadu faces acute power shortage of about one
gigawatt. "And that is exactly the amount the first unit can
produce. So it has to be commissioned as soon as possible."
Russian nuclear scientists involved in KNNP would not
wait indefinitely, he said, adding that they are needed in
other places.
"We have many orders for nuclear projects from other
countries. We have many orders for nuclear stations inside
Russia," he said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 00:31