Paving the way for the commissioning of units III and IV of the Tarapur atomic power plant, the Bombay high court has asked the project-affected people from two villages near the site to move out immediately.

A bench of justices A P Shah and S Dharmadhikary on Friday [February 11] asked the PAPs from Akkarpatti and Popharan, which falls within 1.6 km of the two units in Thane district, to collect their dues of Rs 15,000 from the Maharashtra government for temporary accommodation.

The order came after the state government informed the court that permanent structures for PAPs were being built at Dahisar Turfe, seven km from Tarapur, which would be ready in a few months.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and the state government contend that 1,167 families residing within the prohibited area cannot stay there once the plant is commissioned.

NPCIL officials later said it had deposited Rs 65 crore with the state government for the PAPs.