The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has sought “continuing support” from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, for the Kudankulam nuclear power project.

In a letter to the Chief Minister on Wednesday, Dr Singh expressed concern over the safety of people living in the vicinity, but also pointed out at the State’s power availability concerns and its impact on industrialisation and development.

The letter was written following the Prime Minister’s meeting with an all-party delegation from the State on October 7.

The Prime Minister said his Government “will not compromise on safety in the pursuit of our nuclear energy programme, be it in terms of technology, regulation, skilled manpower or emergency preparedness”.

On technical issues raised by the delegation, Dr Singh said the Government would constitute a small group of experts, with representatives from the Tamil Nadu Government, to interact with the representatives of the people of the region to satisfy all their legitimate concerns.

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

On the project’s impact on power availability, Dr Singh said: “Tamil Nadu is one of the most industrialised states …. Of the 2,000 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 In case the prospects of availability of this power are suddenly withdrawn, this would impact on the State's development and industrialisation plans.”

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