Pros and cons of Kudankulam nuclear power plant

The Supreme Court gave the green light on Monday to the commissioning of a nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu that has been the target of widespread protests.

Tamil Nadu has been suffering from unprecendented power cuts, despite which there have been protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

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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.

Several petitions had been filed before the top court by anti-nuclear activists challenging the project on safety grounds.

Here are the pros and cons of the power plant:

Pros:

Cons: