Environmentalists want INO out of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats, scientists say the project poses no harm
In the case of India's most ambitious science project versus environment activists, the latest to make a score has been the latter.
India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) proposed at the Bodi West Hills at Pottipuram village in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, has stiff opposition from locals and environmentalists. "If the government wants to go ahead with the project, they have to find a site outside the Western Ghats where it does not cause harm to the environment or the locals," says G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal.
Sundarrajan's petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently led to the suspension of the environmental clearance for the project.
On March 20, the NGT, in its order, asked the INO to make a fresh application for the environment clearance and also to get clearance from the National Board of Wildlife.
The petitioner brought to light that the project was 4.9 km away from Mathikettan Shola National Park in Idukki district, Kerala. This makes INO a category 'A' project (within 5 km of a national park ) requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
Speaking to DNA, one of the spokespersons of the neutrino project, Professor D Indumathi, says that as per the NGT order, they will get environment clearance and nod from NBWL as soon as possible to commence the work. She says that the site near Madurai was finalised.
A physicist at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), she says that the planned two-km long tunnel would cause "hardly any disturbance" after the construction period. "It's during the construction that noise disturbance caused by the controlled blasting of the rocks will occur," she says.
The objective of INO is to conduct basic research on the elementary particle called neutrino. After photons, neutrinos are the most abundant particles in the universe. They are affected only by a "weak" sub-atomic force of much shorter range, making it possible for them to pass great distances through matter without being affected.
The neutrino observatory will be located in a cavern 1.2 km under a rocky mountain about 110 km west of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. "The observatory has to be underground to avoid interactions that will submerge the neutrino event," explains a scientist.
At present, 23 research institutes, universities, and IITs from across India are involved with the project. INO is expected to galvanise interest in basic science research in India, making it possible for students to pursue cutting-edge research in the field of particle physics.
When the INO was conceptualised, it was expected to be up and running by 2012. The project hit the first road block in 2009 when the Ministry of Environment rejected the proposal for setting it up at Singara in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. Scientists then found an alternative at Theni, which received a nod from the Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015. The project, however, hit a roadblock in March 2015 with the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court ordering that they seek clearance from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Following the order, in May, scientists applied for clearance, but it took two years for the TNPCB to form an expert committee. In the first week of March, much to the scientists' cheers, the TNPCB finally began to look into the project. However, three weeks later, NGT order has changed the course again.
Observatory blue print
The underground neutrino observatory will be a complex of caverns. The main cavern is 130 metres long, 26 metres wide and 30 metres high. It will house a 50-kilo tonne magnetised iron calorimetre detector to study neutrinos. The observatory will have two smaller caverns for setting up experiments on neutrino double detector and dark matter. The complex will be approached by a two-km long tunnel.
Environmental concerns
Site stands on an aquifer that feeds three important river systems – Periyar, Vaigai, and Vaippar
Rock-blasting during construction could seismically impact reservoirs including Mullaperiyar and Idukki
Department of Atomic Energy could use the underground space for storing high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants
Scientists explain
Tunnel construction will not have any impact on the environment and water sources
Controlled blasting will cause minimal vibrations. Railway tunnelling work close to INO site is underway.
Neutrino detector has to be located away from any radiation. There is no question of storing radioactive waste there.
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