New Bill likely to propose independent nuclear regulator to replace AERB

A Bill being prepared to revamp regulation of the nuclear energy sector is expected to propose an independent body, in place of the existing Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

It envisages the proposed Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India would have full power to stop construction work and also order a shut down of an operating nuclear plant. Besides, the bill, currently in circulation for inter-ministerial consultation has a provision of penalty and imprisonment up to six months in the wake of non-compliance. It is proposed that the regulator’s order cannot be challenged in a court of law.

The government’s plan is to raise nuclear power capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 from the present 4,780 Mw. The idea is to have the bill ready for introduction before the end of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

The bill is proposing that the regulatory authority comprise persons of eminence from the nuclear, social, engineering, environment and finance areas. The authority may report directly to the Parliament or to an independent council or a body comprising related ministries. “These are options proposed in the Bill and the actual format will be finalised after it will be debated in Parliament,” said an official of the department of atomic energy. The AERB, which reports to the AEC, would be subsumed under the new regulatory authority.

The Bill envisages government funding for the regulatory authority. It would also independent research and development back-up.

S K Jain, chairman of the Nuclear Power Corporation, said: “AERB has stopped our work at many times or shut operations of all plants after a fire at the Narora unit. Not even a single decision of AERB has been challenged, though NPC had reservations many times. However, NPC fully complied with the orders. We will continue to abide by the directions being given by the proposed regulatory authority.”

AERB's former chairman, A Gopalakrishnan, who has been harsh on its functioning, said the bill should be uploaded on a website other than DAE or NPC, so that experts, critics and members of the public could make suggestions. “The Bill should not be passed in an hurry but the government should take into consideration views from a cross-section of society. The proposed regulatory authority should not report to DAE but it should be purely independent. The regulatory authority should not be covered under the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, to ensure transparency in its functioning,” he said.

Critics have said the AERB is not independent, as it directly reports to the secretary of the DAE, which is also a promoting agency. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the new regulatory authority would be backed by a strong legal framework and address concerns in many quarters following the March 11 Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear accident in Japan.

The official referred to a document released by the International Atomic Energy Association in 2010, which said: "The regulatory body shall perform its functions in a manner that does not compromise its effective independence. The government establishes and maintains a regulatory body that is effectively independent in its decision making and that has functional separation from entities having responsibilities or interests that could unduly influence its decision making. This imposes an obligation on the regulatory body to discharge its responsibilities in such a way as to preserve its effective independence.”