Revamped N-safety mechanism on cards

New regulatory authority to subsume existing one

The proposed four-tier regulatory structure will be headed by the Council of Nuclear Safety-chaired by the prime minister to shape the policy. Five other Cabinet ministers and Cabinet Secretary will also be a part the council.

Meanwhile, the main task of maintaining nuclear safety would be handed over to the seven-member Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) that will come into being by subsuming the existing nuclear regulator, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

Another agency

The bill also has the provision of setting up another regulatory agency to take care of safety concerns related to nuclear weapons and the strategic nuclear-powered submarines. Nuclear safety issues at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the enrichment facility at Ratehalli near Mysore and nuclear submarine unit at Kalpakkam would possibly be looked after by this wing.

Piloting the bill, V Narayanswamy, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office said that NSRA would seek to achieve the highest standard of safety based on “scientific approach, operating experience and best practices followed by the nuclear industry”.

There will also be an Appellate Authority headed by a judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court. They will help in dealing with the grievances against NSRA with assistance from two technocrat members.

In the existing AERB mechanism, the Atomic Energy Commission is the appellate authority, which does not seem to enjoy people's confidence. “There were court cases against AERB but no appeal to AEC,” K S Parthasarathy, former AERB secretary told Deccan Herald.

AERB was set up by an executive order under the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 for radiological safety. An inherent contradiction, however, persist for 28 years as the purpose of the act and mandate of the department of atomic energy was to promote nuclear energy whereas AERB's is the regulator.