Indian Neutrino research (INO) Project is proposed to set up at Bodi West Hills in Pottipuram village, Theni District in Tamil Nadu, as per a government communiqué issued on Wednesday at New Delhi. The project, expected to be completed in 2015 at an estimated cost of $250 million, has been cleared by the Ministry of Environment (India).

The state government provided land for setting up of this underground laboratory and the action is on hand to take possession of land. There are no environmental concerns since INO is a laboratory for basic sciences. The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office V Narayanasamy gave this information in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a proposed particle physics research project to primarily study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300 meters (4,300 ft) deep cave under Ino Peak in Tamil Nadu. This project is notable in that it is anticipated to provide a precise measurement of neutrino mixing parameters. The project is a multi-institute collaboration and one of the biggest experimental particle physics projects undertaken in India.