Build AFR facilities by 2022 for Kudankulam n-plant's spent fuel: SC
New Delhi, July 2: The Supreme Court on Monday extended, till 2022, the time for creating away-from-reactor (AFR) facilities to store Kudankulam nuclear power plant's spent fuel, currently kept within the plant.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud's decision came as Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that AFR facilities will be created in the extended time being sought by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).
The earlier deadline came to an end on May 31.
The court was earlier told that the process to complete the AFR facility was going on and the spent nuclear fuel at present is stored in the Tamil Nadu plant's spent fuel storage bay, designed to survive earthquakes as per the specific site.
The court asked counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for original petitioner G. Sunderrajan, to move a separate plea as he said that the extension of time should not mean that the NCPIL have unrestricted nod for operating the plant and creating more spent fuel.
The apex court, by its 2013 judgment, gave the nod to operationalise the first unit of the plant with a direction to the government and NPCIL to submit a report on the compliance of all safety steps before the plant is commissioned.
It asked the government and the NPCIL to find suitably safe areas to dispose the nuclear waste and also issued guidelines on commissioning, safety and security and environmental issues concerning the nuclear plant.
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Tharoor, Surpriya Sule among seven MPs to lead India’s diplomatic outreach after Operation Sindoor
New Delhi: In a bid to reinforce India’s united stand against terrorism, the Union government on Saturday announced that Opposition leaders Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi are among the MP’s who will lead all-party delegations to “partner nations” following Operation Sindoor.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju made the announcement on social media platform X, stating: “In moments that matter most, Bharat stands united.” He added that the delegations will represent India’s message of zero-tolerance against terrorism, underlining national unity that transcends political lines.
“The all-party delegations will project India’s national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country’s strong message of zero-tolerance against terrorism,” the parliamentary affairs ministry said.
https://twitter.com/KirenRijiju/status/1923588921365069973
It added that MPs from several parties, notable political figures and diplomats will be part of each delegation.
The seven leaders heading these delegations are: Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Supriya Sule (NCP – Sharad Pawar faction), Kanimozhi (DMK), Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), and Shrikant Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).
Several other political figures are reportedly expected to be included in the diplomatic exercise, including BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey, Bansuri Swaraj, Anurag Thakur, M.J. Akbar, Samik Bhattacharya, and Daggubati Purandeswari; Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewari; AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi; Democratic Progressive Azad Party’s Ghulam Nabi Azad; and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi.
As per reports, each delegation will likely include 7–8 members and is expected to visit 4–5 countries over a span of approximately 10 days.
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