Nuclear Safety Regulatory Bill to be passed soon: AEC Chief

However, he asserted that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, currectly the de facto regulator, is highly professional and independent

Atomic Energy Commission chairman RK Sinha on Tuesday hoped that the parliament would soon pass the the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill, 2011. However, he was quick to add that India's present nuclear regulator Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which is the de facto regulator, was highly professional and independent. With the passage of the bill the regulator will be in place dejure regulator. The bill would replace the current Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

Sinha, who was speaking at the sidelines of Indian Nuclear Energy Summit 2012, argued that AERB on several occasions had stopped the construction works or even operations of power plants directing upgradation of safety applications. In the recent case, AERB had deferred the fuel loading into the Kudankulam unit 1 but after incorporating AERB's suggestions the Nuclear Power Corporation has now started it.

GR Srinivasan, principal associate- nuclear power business, GMR Energy also hailed the independence of AERB. Srinivasan informed that AERB's instructions have been strictly followed by Nuclear Power Corporation and the former had at times directed stoppage of plant operations.

The parliament could not take up the report submitted by standing committee on science and technology at the monsoon session due to lack of proceedings. The  parliamentary standing committee had recommended that the Bill may specify that the delegation of powers and functions by the NSRA would only be made to officers or authorities of the state government who possess necessary competence.

The  standing committee recommended that it should be mandatory for the central government to bring the facilities and materials exempted from the purview of the NSRA under Clause 25(1) under one or more regulatory body. Further, the eligibility criteria for being a member of the Appellate Authority should be broadened, to allow eminent scientists to qualify.

Moreover, the Committee expressed that Clauses 14(1), 42 and 48  may impinge on the functional autonomy of the NSRA.  It expressed that the NSRA could be made more autonomous.