PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy warned that stern action would be taken against officials against whom complaints are received of showing discrimination while distributing relief for those hit by Cyclone Thane.Narayanasamy said this while addressing a gathering here on Sunday during the release of a book titled Kudankulam Anunilayam, Oru Varaprasadam (Koodankulam n-project, a great boon). The distribution of relief would be monitored, he said, adding, “if any lapse or discrimination is found on the part of the officials, strict action would be taken against them. This may even land them in jail.”The Union Minister, who highlighted the necessity of commencing operations at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, later deviated from the topic and spoke about the cyclone relief.Neither CM N Rangasamy nor the ministers made a trip to Delhi to approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for more relief funds, he claimed. He said that although he belonged to an Opposition party in the state, he convinced the PM to release more funds.The ruling party, according to him, was engaged in false propaganda, including claims like “Narayanasamy scuttled `75 crore after the release of `50 crore out of the total relief package of `125 crore.” Narayanasamy said that there were several complaints about the disbursal of relief. Many, like fishermen affected by Thane, were yet to receive relief, he added.K-plant Will Benefit UTEarlier, Narayanasamy said the UT, experiencing power shortage, would also benefit from the functioning of the Koodankulam plant.He said he would make efforts to ensure that the level of 67 MW planned to be routed to the region is increased to 100 MW once the plant becomes functional. Given the fact that the UT would also benefit from the KKNPP, it is surprising that the UT government has been silent on the issue. A one-man show was being staged in the region and the ministers were bothered about retaining their power and not the interests of people, Narayanasamy said.Only 1,45,000 MW is produced in the country on a daily basis, as against the demand of 1,87,000 MW, the Minister pointed out.Further, districts in Tamil Nadu face six to seven-hour power cuts. While the demand for power in TN stood at 11,500 MW, only 8,500 MW is being produced, he added. Narayanasamy dubbed as “baseless” the rumours “propagated by voluntary organisations, causing fear and apprehension that the KKNPP would cause health hazards and affect marine life.” Utmost care has been taken as far as the safety aspect of the plant is concerned, he added.With regard to his recent visit to the Kalpakkam test reactors, the Minister pointed out that the country’s scientists developed it without any assistance from foreign countries.They even developed thorium as nuclear fuel to be used in the reactors, Narayanasamy said. Former chief minister V Vaithilingam, PCC chief A V Subramanian and other Congress functionaries were present.
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