Expert Committee on Kudankulam to be set up tomorrow : PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said the committee promised by him to convince stakeholders in the Kudankulam nuclear power project would be set up by tomorrow.

However, he regretted that his letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on the subject had not reached her, an issue on which she had criticised him.

"Well I am sorry. I have seen that comment," he said when pointed out that Jayalalithaa had stated that she had not received any letter from the Prime Minister about which she had read in newspapers.

Singh, who was talking while returning from his three-day visit to South Africa, said he had sent a letter to the Chief Minister. "When I go back, I will look at my office as to why the letter, that was sent, did not reach her in time."

At the same time, he said, "I do feel that we can give reasonable satisfaction to all the stakeholders who are worried about the safety of the atomic energy plant at Kudankulam."

For that matter, he recalled having offered to the Chief Minister that a high-level group would be set up to interact with the state government and with the local population. "That will be set up today or tomorrow," he said.