The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has requested the State government to constitute an expert committee from various fields to give its recommendations on the neutrino project proposed to be set up near Bodi West hills in Theni district, the State government has informed the National Green Tribunal.
The experts have been sought from fields such as nuclear physics, atomic chemistry, geo-technology, hydrogeology, bio-diversity, forestry and seismic sciences, the government said in a reply filed before the Southern Bench of the NGT on Friday.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) had issued environmental clearance to the project in June 2011. The Tamil Nadu government had diverted about 32 hectares of land for the project.
The Madras High Court, last year, issued an interim injunction restraining the project proponents from commencing work on the project without obtaining necessary clearances from the TNPCB and following mandatory provisions, based on a writ petition filed by MDMK general secretary Vaiko.
“Accordingly, the TNPCB has been requested to send names of experts from various fields for constituting a committee to study Neutrino project and to give its recommendations to the TNPCB for taking necessary decision. After receiving the names, necessary orders will be issued at the government level for constituting a committee to study Neutrino project,” the State government said in its reply.
Meanwhile, petitioner G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal questioned the validity of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project as the agency which carried out the assessment was not an accredited agency as mandated by the MoEF. The petitioner sought a fresh EIA to be carried out by a qualified and accredited agency.
The Bench comprising Justice P Jyothimani and expert member P.S. Rao observed that despite repeated orders, the TNPCB and the Tamil Nadu government had failed to decide on the merits of the case.
