The government on Tuesday said it may consider putting in place additional environmental safeguards to ensure safety of the proposed nuclear reactor in Jaitapur in the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan that has endangered atomic power plants there.
"Based on the technical reviews the NPCIL does, we will certainly be in touch with them and if additional safeguards have to be built in as part of the environmental clearance, we will certainly look at it," said Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
He was reacting to a question on whether the government is going to have a re-look at the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra in the wake of the deadly earthquake that caused severe damage in a nuclear facility in Japan.
Ramesh said the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is reviewing all safety systems and designs. "This is appropriately a subject that has to be dealt by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board," the minister said.
Ramesh said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made a detailed statement in Parliament and has ordered a review of safety systems at all the nuclear plants in the country.
Terming the disaster that has hit Japan as "horrendous", Ramesh said, "The nuclear catastrophe is a matter of concern for all of us."
Earlier, addressing a conclave on business and climate change organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Ramesh said India should "go beyond the immediate crisis" that has hit the nuclear industry and recognise the nuclear option.
He said the country will have a global footprint as far as nuclear technology is concerned.
"We would actually in a couple of years from now have a global footprint as far as Indian technology is concerned. This could be in the area of nuclear energy, this could be in the area of coal technology," the minister said.
In all these areas, Indian industry has the potential, skill, capacity and institutional resources, he said.
He said the industry and the government have to work together to deal with challenges posed by climate change that will "affect India most profoundly."
