Chennai, Jan 20 (IANS): The central government has the right to inspect the accounts of NGOs but the timing and motives were suspect, said an activist protesting the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
"The central government has every right to inspect the books of accounts of NGOs. But it is the timing of the inspection and the choice of NGOs that makes us suspect the government's real intention," M. Pushparayan, convener of the Coastal People's Federation and a leading member of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), told IANS.
He said union home ministry officials had inspected the books of a couple of NGOs in Tuticorin and in Madurai to check whether they were funding the protest against KNPP.
"The inspections were done at Christian NGOs thereby giving a colour that Christians are against the project. The inspections could have been done at a later date as the protest against the atomic power plant is going on now. Further why should select NGOs be targeted for inspections," he added.
The central government officials wound up their inspections Thursday.
India's nuclear power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW atomic power reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here.
The project, originally budgeted to cost Rs.13,171 crore, got initially delayed due to non-sequential deliveries of equipments from the Russian Federation. The revised project cost is estimated to be around Rs.15,824 crore.
Villagers of Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and others fear for their lives and safety in case of any nuclear accident.
Their agitation has put a stop to the project work, delaying the commissioning of the first unit slated last month.
In order to resolve the issue the central and state governments have formed two panels to allay the fears of the people. The state panel has representatives of PMANE that spearheads the protest against the project.
As per plans, the multi-disciplinary central panel would meet the state panel and explain safety features and other aspects of the KNPP. The state panel will, in turn, allay the fears of the people.
The fourth round of the meeting is slated for Jan 31 at Tirunelveli.