'Backing out from N-deal will deny India access to energy'

KOCHI: Backing out from the Indo-US nuclear deal will deny India access to a permanent source of energy, top nuclear scientist MR Srinivasan has said.

It will also deny the country overseas nuclear technology, the member of National Security Advisory Board said delivering a lecture on 'Indo-US Nuclear Agreement and its Impact on Indian Economy' organised by the Kerala Management Association on Tuesday night.

Srinivasan said without the agreement, the country will have much more to lose. "Not only access to American nuclear technology, but also cooperation with Russia and France."

However, he acknowledged that the Hyde Act, the base of the nuclear deal, was not completely in favour of India.

"Probably the Act does not allow us a further nuclear test and has provision regarding termination of treaty in that," the former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission said.

But any agreement reached between two parties will not completely satisfy both of them, he added.

On the uncertainty on going ahead with the deal, Srinivasan said, "If we had a political consensus, the current situation would not have arisen".

The Left parties, supporting the UPA government from outside, should set aside their concerns against India entering into a treaty with the US. "In the coalition era we are living in, it is best that a measure of consensus is built on vital issues, including the nuclear deal," he said.

Apart from the Left parties, BJP and UNPA had also expressed their reservation about the accord, Srinivasan said, adding 'the situation now is that there will be a discussion in the Parliament and if the majority in the house say 'no', I do not know how they will go ahead'.

"The merits of the agreement have not receded in the complexity of our political situation," the nuclear expert said.

India had built a strong base in nuclear field, prompting the US to cooperate with the country, he said.

In the coming years, India would require more energy to keep pace with the growing economy, he said, adding, low energy production would affect the speed of development.

The country would be able to produce energy effectively from thorium in large scale within a couple of decades since efforts in that direction had already been started, he said.

He said former Kerala Chief Ministers K Karunakaran and late EK Nayanar were keen on setting up nuclear power stations in the state.

During his tenure as the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, both of them had asked him to find a suitable site for the nuclear power station, Srinivasan said.

Though Boothathankettu in Ernakulam district was suggested for setting up the plant, it was not selected owing to the high population density in that area, he added.