Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill

The government has introduced the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill. It seeks to create two regulatory bodies as part of measures to strengthen safety at the country’s atomic power plants. It provides for the “establishment of the Council of Nuclear Safety to oversee and review the policies with respect to radiation safety, nuclear safety and other matters,” as mentioned in the objects and reasons cited in the Bill. This council will constitute an appellate authority with a Supreme Court judge or a high court chief justice as chairperson and two eminent scientists to consider appeals against orders of NSRA. The proposed regulator will have the authority to stop construction work and order an operating nuclear plant to shut down operations in case of any disaster. The structure and functions of the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) proposed in the NSRA Bill are mostly based on the recommendations of the Raja Ramanna committee appointed by the Prime Minister in 1996.

As per the Bill, all offences under the Act will be cognisable under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, but no action will be taken in respect of any person for any offence under the Act except on the basis of a written complaint made. The law could also regulate the manufacture, custody, transport, transfer, sale, export, import, use or disposal of any radioactive substance.

The proposed legislation, which will further be scrutinized by a parliamentary standing committee before it comes up for discussion and passage in Parliament. The much-awaited Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill may be submitted to Parliament along with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee for Science and Technology in the current session of the House. The evolution of the nuclear regulatory body in India took too long.

A part of sub-section 20(2)(h) which empowers the NSRA to "specify hours of work, minimum leave and periodical medical examinations" to radiation workers is grossly inconsistent with current international norms and practices . This provides an exaggerated sense of risk to workers in the field of atomic energy and in the industrial , medical and research applications of radiation. Amendment of a part of the sub-section shall be helpful as it is not justifiable in the purview of current international practices.Complete text of the Bill