Cabinet nod for Bill to set up independent N-regulator

Government today approved a Bill that would give more powers to the country’s nuclear regulator by making it a statutory body. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, okayed the Nuclear Safety And Regulatory Authority Bill that would grant the regulator greater independence.

The Bill, once passed by Parliament, would pave way for setting up an Authority that would subsume the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The AERB was set up through an Executive Order in 1983 and reports to the Atomic Energy Commission.

Strong demands were made for setting up an “independent” nuclear regulator in the run up to the signing of the Civil Nuclear Agreement with the US. The Bill seeks to give the proposed Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India full power to stop construction work and also order a shut down of an operating nuclear plant.

It is also proposed that the NRAI order cannot be challenged in a court of law. Government plans to raise nuclear power capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 from the present 4,780 Mw.

The Authority is expected to comprise persons of eminence from nuclear, social, engineering, environment and finance areas. The bill envisages government funding for the regulatory authority. Government had decided to fast track setting up of the NRAI in the backdrop of the Fukushima nuclear accident.