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Govt go-ahead for Jaitapur, decides to set up nuclear regulatory body
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 26
Going ahead with its plans to upscale the country’s nuclear energy programme, the UPA government today decided to bring in greater transparency and tighten safety standards in the functioning of the atomic power sector through the constitution of an autonomous nuclear regulatory authority.

The Centre will introduce a Bill in the next session of Parliament for the creation of such an independent and autonomous authority which will subsume the existing Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The AERB currently functions under the jurisdiction of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The decision was taken at a special meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant and various aspects of the country’s overall nuclear energy programme in the light of the Fukushima incident. Aware of the growing public mood against the use of nuclear energy, the Prime Minister reiterated that the government would accord highest priority to safety of nuclear plants.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy, National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and the country’s top nuclear experts were also present at the meeting.

“The decision to set up an autonomous nuclear regulatory authority is indeed a momentous one. The nuclear power sector will now be opened up like never before. There will be total transparency in the functioning of nuclear power plants,” asserted Prithviraj Chavan.

The meeting emphasised that all reactors and technologies, whether imported or indigenous, will be subject to the safety standards stipulated by the proposed regulatory. The government has also decided to go in for stand-alone safety and operation systems in designs of each of the six reactors.