Plea in SC against environmental clearance to N-plant

A fresh petition was filed on Friday in the Supreme Court against the environmental clearance given to the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.

The plea by Chennai-based social activist G Sundarrajan has sought stay on the August 31 verdict of the Madras high court, which had upheld the validity of the environment clearance given to the project by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 1989.

This is the third petition in the apex court against the commissioning of Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which has trigger large-scale protest.

The earlier petitions filed by civil societies Centre for Public Interest Litigation and Common Cause have sought a direction to the government to make it binding on the Russian firm involved in setting up of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant to pay damages in case of any accident.

It had been alleged that the Centre has exempted Russian firm from all liabilities in case of a mishap which is against the law.

Sundarrajan had also approached the apex court against the high court's decision, which had refused to impose any restraint on the plant.

The activist in his today's petition filed through advocates Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva contended that the high court ignored the law that states that any expansion or modernisation requires a fresh clearance and that a clearance stands valid only for five years.