NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court gave the green light on Monday to the commissioning of a nuclear power plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu that has been the target of widespread protests.
"The plant has been set up for people's welfare," said the ruling on the Kudankulam plant.
"Necessary clearances have been taken by the government, and development of the nuclear power plant is important for India," it added.
The Russian-built Kudankulam plant is the country's largest nuclear power project and is designed to help meet a surging demand for electricity.
Plans were first drawn up in 1988 and it was supposed to have gone into operation in 2011.
Two of the reactors are now in place but they have come on line amid large-scale protests by locals about the threat of radiation.
Judges K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Dipak Mishra, who delivered Monday's verdict, ordered the government to submit a final report on the safety aspect of the plant and waste disposal arrangements to deal the hazardous material.
Several petitions had been filed before the top court by anti-nuclear activists challenging the project on safety grounds.
"We have to strike a balance between larger interest and economic necessities," the ruling stated. (AFP)
