India News | Tamil Nadu CM Urges PM Modi to Shelve India-based Neutrino Observatory Project

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 14 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to order authorities concerned to shelve the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project in Theni, Tamil Nadu.

In his letter to PM Modi, Stalin wrote that in his memorandum dated 17.06.2021, he requested PM Modi to drop the proposal of setting up the INO at Pottipuram village in Theni for the conservation of the rich wildlife and biodiversity of the region as the project would cause irreversible damage to the fragile and sensitive ecosystem.

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Stalin wrote, "It is pertinent to note that the site which is being proposed for the Neutrino project falls within the Mathikettan-Periyar Tiger Corridor as mapped by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The corridor has the critical function of maintaining the genetic flow which will be destroyed due to project activities."

"The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has referred the matter to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The proposed project is located about 4.9 km from Mathikettan Shola National Park...The area forms a significant watershed and water catchment for River Sambal and River Kottakud Small streams on the west side of Bodi hills join the Kottakud river which joins the Perivar river before draining into the Vaiga dam. This watershed is the lifeline of the local communities as it supports their livelihood and provides water for drinking and agricultural beads for five districts of Tamil Nadu," wrote Stalin.

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He further mentioned "A Ministerial delegation from the State had met Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Union Minister for Industries Commerce, on September 27, 2021, in this regard. They had conveyed our specific stand and had requested to drop the project considering the serious repercussions that can be caused by the project."

The INO Project is a multi-institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approximately 1,200 m for non-accelerator-based high energy and nuclear physics research in India.

The project is jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. (ANI)

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