“The proposed site for the Neutrino project is close to the Mathikettan Shola National Park, requiring a clearance from the National Board for Wildlife. However, we heard that the team is trying to get this from the Kerala government. 

This is a category A project and the environmental clearance can only be granted after a fresh Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has to be done by an accredited agency. This should be translated into Tamil and Malayalam and disseminated. Then, a public hearing should be conducted. 

Only after this can a clearance from the National Board for Wildlife be elicited. However, the team is trying to get the wildlife clearance without a fresh EIA,” he said, adding, that the order had specifically directed for an EIA by an accredited agency. 

“If they don’t do that, we will expose the dubious nature of the INO team,” added the activist. Attempts were made to the INO team for a comment but the calls went unanswered.