The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday reserved its orders on an application seeking quashing or review of a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance given for the four new units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).After the final hearing of the application, the Bench comprising Justice P. Jyothimani and expert member P.S. Rao, reserved orders.Appearing for applicant G. Sundararajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, counsel M. Radhakrishnan challenged the clearance given for units 3 to 6 of KKNPP as the agency that gave the clearance was not an authorised entity.Engineers India Ltd is not authorised to prepare consultancy reports for nuclear power plants. The main ground of this case relates to this part, Mr. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu.In 2012, clearance was granted to KKNPP units 3-6 to enable Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to proceed with the necessary work to start building the plants.Since the company which did the audit was not an accredited agency as required by law to grant clearances for a nuclear plant, the clearance should be quashed or a fresh review through a competent authority should be done, he said.Also, there is precedent in such cases where the Tribunal has set aside such clearances or has ordered a fresh review, he added.After hearing both sides, the Bench reserved judgement without specifying a date.
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