Chennai After months of dilly-dallying and continuous protests by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), the power-starved Tamil Nadu on Monday took a final call on the much-debated Koodankulam nuclear power project issue by announcing it as safe and ordered for speedy measures to commission the plant at the earliest. The decision was announced by chief minister J Jayalalithaa after a cabinet meeting in the morning. Seeking to end the impasse over the Kudankulam nuclear plant issue, the Jayalalilthaa government in Tamil Nadu has given the go ahead to the controversial project and announced a Rs 500 crore special development package for the area where it is located. "In accordance with the cabinet decision, immediate steps will be taken to commission the plant at the earliest," the chief minister said in a statement, breaking her silence over the issue despite opposition's continued tirade against her on this vexed issue. She sought the cooperation of political parties and all concerned to immediately resume work at the plant site. While the work on the first of the 2X1,000 MW project completed with 99.5% and that of second unit is 93.5%. The cabinet decided to allocate Rs 500 crore for locals to set up among others, a cold storage to store fish catch, construct houses, laying of roads and repairing mechanised fishing boats of local fishermen, she said. The decision comes a day after completion of by-poll held at Sankarankoil, which falls in the same district. Recalling the past moments, she said various measures have been taken by the state government over last few months in allaying the apprehensions of the locals on the safety aspects of the project. The state government even had passed a resolution at the assembly, asking the central government to clear the air in the minds of people and assured the people unless and until they be convinced the plant will not be allowed to function. Both the central and state-appointed teams of experts, which had made detailed surveys of the plant safety in person, had given a clean chit to the Indo-Russian joint venture. The 15-member central committee, which held four rounds of meeting with representatives of protesters, had replied to the number of queries, both technical and environmental fronts and have submitted two reports, she said. Both the reports vouched for the plant's safety, saying the reactors adhered to all safety norms and that the Atomic Energy Commission's approval of the plant after many levels of safety tests. There would be no effect on sea-life, including fishing, due to the effluents as they are under governed norms, she said, quoting the report. The four-member state government appointed committee, comprising nuclear expert and former AEC chief MR Srinivasan, also vouched for the plant's safety, she said. Among its observations in the report, it said there was 'no history' of large-scale tremors or tsunami and that the state government has taken all steps to allay fears of the locals besides detailing the safety aspects in the plant. The committee had recommended for creating awareness among locals, the need to set up a cold storage facility for fishermen and boat-repair facility in the locality, she said. Meanwhile, acting tough against anti-nuclear activists demanding closure of the project, key functionaries of a body spearheading the movement against KNPP said to have been arrested at the plant site today. One of the arrested has been the advisor of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which is spearheading the movement against KNPP. PMANE chief convenor RB Udhayakumar has began an indefinite fast at Indinthakarai village, demanding closure of the plant and that it should not be commissioned without proper disaster management training to the locals.