New Delhi: The Atomic Energy Regulatory Body (AERB) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) had undergone stringent safety scrutiny by experts before being given permission to undertake staged operations towards full commissioning. Attorney general G E Vahanvati said the 17 post-Fukushima safety requirements highlighted as pre-conditions for operation of KNPP was not advocated by AERB but by project operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and that these were understood to be implemented in a phased condition. He informed a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra that AERB had evaluated the safety measures in place at the project and had given permission for initial fuel loading and then for the first approach towards criticality (FAC) after reviewing and resolving various issues and safety measures at the plant. TNN