The department of atomic energy (DAE) has been given clearance to join the worldwide search for the elusive neutrino particles.
The Union environment and forests ministry has given the DAE the go-ahead to build a neutrino observatory in the Bodi West hills on the coast of Tamil Nadu, BBC reported.
The $270 million facility will be only the fifth observatory in the world dedicated to detecting the almost mass-less elementary particles, sometimes called ‘ghost particles’.
It is one of the biggest and most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken by India and could help the country to gain a leading role in the field of particle research.
About 90 scientists from 26 organisations will be involved in the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO), said the organisers.
A cavern and a mile-long tunnel will be constructed under the hills, where researchers will use a 55,000-ton electromagnet to carry out experiments.
But activists near the site fear locals may suffer restricted access to the area owing to the sensitivity of the project.
"Neutrinos are tiny, neutral, elementary particles found abundantly in the cosmos,” said Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar, chairman of the INO cell in Madurai.
“The sun and all other stars produce neutrinos abundantly through nuclear fusion and decay processes. Neutrinos rarely interact and pass unhindered through all objects, including the sun and the earth.
"We have chosen a place where natural rock cover of over 1,000m thickness is available,” Jaikumar said.
The hard rocks will act as a natural filter allowing only the neutrino particles to reach the laboratory.
Dr Jaikumar expects the project to enhance understanding of the universe and the earth's structure as well as volcanic activity and how tsunamis are caused.
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