Singh bats for nuclear power shunned by Bengal Stress on safety, sights on Nobel via Telegraph

Calcutta, Aug. 21: Manmohan Singh today underlined the importance of “environmentally friendly” nuclear energy in the country’s development four days after the Bengal government officially scrapped a proposed nuclear power project in East Midnapore citing green concerns.

“The availability of safe and affordable energy is an important factor in enabling us to realise our aspirations for growth and development. I am convinced that nuclear energy will play an important role in our quest for a clean and environmentally friendly energy mix as a major locomotive to fuel our development process,” the Prime Minister said at the closing ceremony of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Calcutta.

The occasion must have prompted Singh to speak on nuclear energy, a matter close to the Prime Minister’s heart, rather than any intention to contradict the Mamata Banerjee-led government.

Singh also addressed the matter of safety to avoid quake-triggered nuclear disasters, akin to the nuclear plant leak in Japan in March.

“We are in the process of expanding our civil nuclear energy programme. Even as we do so, we have to ensure that the use of nuclear energy in India meets the highest safety standards. This is a matter on which there can be no compromise. I would call upon the Saha Institute and other similar institutions to contribute to enhancing the safety of our nuclear reactors,” he said.

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