A Bill aimed at establishing a legal framework to address nuclear safety issues and set up an autonomous atomic energy watchdog was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011, introduced by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr V Narayanasamy, provides for the creation of a Council for Nuclear Safety, headed by the Prime Minister, to oversee and review policies relating to radiation safety.
It also provides for establishment of a Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority to regulate radiation and nuclear safety and achieve the “highest standards on the basis of scientific approach, operating experience and best practices followed by the nuclear industry,” the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill said.
This Authority would also ensure that use of radiation and atomic energy in all its applications is safe for the health of radiation workers, the people and the environment, it said.
The Authority will subsume the existing Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The decision to have a new body with statutory backing for overseeing safety aspects in the sector marks a major departure from the earlier plans that aimed at devolving greater autonomy to the existing AERB and comes in the wake of safety concerns raised after the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan in March.
The Bill also provides for establishment of regulatory bodies for the purpose of national defence and security. It seeks to empower the Council of Nuclear Safety to constitute an Appellate Authority to enable the Central Government or any person aggrieved by an order of the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority to file an appeal.
The Government had set up the AERB under the Atomic Energy Act 1962 to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions.