Centre may give entire Kudankulam power to TN

The centre is looking into chief minister J Jayalalithaa's demand that the entire power to be generated from the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power project be allotted to Tamil Nadu, minister of state in the prime minister's office V Narayanasamy, said on Friday.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is already looking into it and I will also take up the matter with him," Narayanasamy told reporters in Delhi. ''I am aware of the power shortage in Tamil Nadu.'' However, he did not say when a decision could be expected.

Reiterating that the first unit of the project, scheduled to generate 1,000 MW, will be commissioned in two months, he said the next unit would be operational two months after the first unit. ''The commissioning of both of these units would generate 2,000 MW in the next four months,'' he noted.

In a recent letter to the prime minister, Jayalalithaa expressed dissatisfaction that of the 2,000 MW to be generated, Tamil Nadu had been allocated only 925 MW. She demanded that the entire power be given to the state due to the severe power shortage.

Meanwhile local protests are continuing at the site of the plant, for which the state cabinet had given the go-ahead on 19 March after Jayalalithaa did a volte face from her earlier antagonism to the project.