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With AERB giving clearance for the 'First Approach to Criticality' to Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, power generation to the tune of 1,000 MW is expected to start in a couple of days, Union Minister V Narayanasamy said today.
"AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) has given FAC clearance which we had been awaiting for the last few days. Efforts towards power generation will start in a day or two," Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the PMO, told reporters at the airport here.
Narayanasamy criticised anti-nuclear protests led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) and claimed that the delay caused by the opposition had resulted to a loss of Rs 2,000 crore to the Centre.
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"The struggle committee is responsible for this as they had misled people with wrong information. Central and state government appointed panels of experts and scientists. Besides former President A P J Abdul Kalam had visited the site and vouched for it's safety," he said.
The protestors' efforts to "scuttle" the project has been averted, he added.
AERB yesterday gave clearance for FAC, which is the commencement of the controlled nuclear fission process for the first time and is a step towards the subsequent beginning of power production in a nuclear reactor.
