The Centre on Saturday made it clear there was no plan to dump Uranium waste from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in defunct gold mines at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka.
Amid media reports that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has decided to dump the uranium waste in KGF, Minister of State in PMO, V Narayanasamy, said the waste will not be taken to KGF.
He also noted that there were less chances of getting any nuclear wastes from the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu.
“I had spoken about this matter to Central minister K H Muniyappa (who hails from Kolar district) and also discussed with senior officials of my department. On behalf of the department, I strongly say that the Uranium waste will not be taken there” he told reporters at the Airport here.
Life came to a standstill in Kolar Gold Fields on Friday following a bandh call given by various political parties to protest the Centre’s reported move.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar dismissed the government’s claim and said the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it is planning to use the abandoned gold fields as dumping ground for the nuclear waste.
“It is very clear from the affidavit filed by the Centre (in SC) which talks about the processing of nuclear waste. It has been conducting laboratory tests in KGF and there is every possibility that the waste will be dumped in KGF as it is almost closed,” he told reporters at Bangalore after meeting Governor H R Bhardwaj on the issue.
Denying that BJP was making a political issue on the matter, Kumar said it is unfortunate there are four union ministers from Karnataka who haven’t prevailed over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking the Centre not to dump the nuclear waste in KGF.
Earlier, BJP leaders K S Eshwarappa, former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and former minister Ramchandre Gowda and other legislators met Bhardwaj and asked him to plead with the Centre not to dump KNPP waste.
BJP would raise the issue in Parliament on November 26, he said and urged the Prime Minister to assure members that nuclear waste would not be dumped in the state.
