Posted on behalf of K.S. Jayaraman

India’s particle physicists have won permission to build a US$225-million neutrino laboratory — one of the country’s biggest physics projects — under the Bodi West Hills in the state of Tamil Nadu. The environment ministry approved the site on 18 October.

The laboratory, which will study neutrinos produced by cosmic rays in Earth’s atmosphere, has suffered lengthy delays. Heralded as a chance to revitalize India’s nuclear physics community, the INO (India-based neutrino observatory) collaboration involves around 100 scientists and has been in the works since 2001 (see ‘India digs deep to build neutrino lab’, Nature 450, 13; 2007). Last year, the environment ministry rejected a proposal to locate the site below the Nilgiri corridor in the same state, because its construction (involving digging out a cavern at the end of a 2km-long tunnel) would endanger local elephants and tigers (see ‘Indian neutrino lab site rejected’, Nature 462, 397; 2009).

Approval at the new site is subject to the conditions that no trees will be cut and the environmental impact of tunneling will be minimal. Construction will start after formal clearance by the cabinet, and is due to be completed by 2015, the ministry said.