New Delhi, March 17 (IANS): The leakage of heavy water in the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat must impel the government to stop building new nuclear projects in the country, the CPI-M has said.

"The harmful policy of importing nuclear reactors and diluting the liability law to facilitate the foreign nuclear companies must (also) be reversed," CPI-M journal People's Democracy said in an editorial.

"There has to be a comprehensive safety audit of the nuclear plants in the country," the editorial said. 

"There has to be an independent nuclear regulatory authority without which there can be no credible safety and risk assessment of the nuclear power plants," it added.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said the leakage of heavy water in unit one of the KAPS-1 had again raised fears about the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plants in the country. 

"As per the sketchy reports emanating, there was a moderately large leakage of heavy water in Kakrapar on March 11. 

"The power plant has been shut down and inspection is on by the scientists from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to assess the nature and seriousness of the accident and to ensure that the safety of the plant is assured." 

The editorial said even the newly constructed power plants were also affected by leaks, and cited the example of the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu.

"The problems plaguing the plant are being attributed to the supply of some sub-standard equipment by the Russian company. Thus the safety fears raised by the local people at the time of the construction of Kudankulam appear fully justified," it said.