Human rights violated at Koodankulam: report

June 05, 2012: The federal government of India and the Tamil Nadu state government have violated human rights while handling the protest against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, a report revealed on Monday.

The report, released by an independent committee, said people's right to freedom of speech and freedom of movement was suppressed and that the governments used the police to harass the protesters.

The committee, headed by justice A P Shah, lawyer Geeta Ramaseshan and Prabha Kalvimani of Irular Tribes Protection Association, based its findings on the testimonies villagers gave at a public hearing it conducted on May 14.

The "Report of the Jury on the Public Hearing on Kudankulam and State Suppression of Democratic Rights" suggested withdrawal of cases against more than 200 protesters who have been booked on charges of sedition and waging war against the country.

"The jury recommends that all cases against persons be withdrawn as they are only exercising their legitimate right to protest and there was nothing to indicate they were committing such serious offences, the report said.

It also suggested that the federal government release information on safety and site evaluation and make public the inter-governmental liability agreement with Russia. The Tamil Nadu government had initially opposed the Koodankulam project which is being built with Russian technology.

However, it backtracked in March and said the plant would be commissioned to address the state’s crippling energy crisis. Upon completion, Koodankulam will be India's largest atomic power plant - its six reactors will generate unprecedented power supply for the state.

The plant was scheduled to start in December 2011 but thousands of people from surrounding villages launched the protest, fearing a Fukushima-like disaster in the event of an earthquake. Two government-appointed expert committees found the plant to be safe and public fears unfounded. The villagers, however, disagree with this and want the plant closed.