“The government will introduce a bill in the nest session of parliament to create an independent and autonomous Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India that will subsume the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB),” Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy told media here on Tuesday.
This was decided at a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the current status of the 9,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear projects and the impact of Japan’s Fukushima atomic tragedy on India’s nuclear programme.
The meeting was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, principal secretary to the Prime Minister T.K.A. Nair, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) chairman S.K. Jain.
The government also decided to go ahead with the Jaitapur nuclear project with plans of a new compensation package.
Narayan Swamy who was flanked by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said that a generous compensation package by Maharashtra government and Nuclear Power Corporation would be announced soon.
Referring to the safety aspects of the proposed Jaitapur nuclear plant, he said that each reactor will have its own stand alone safety and operation systems and there would be complete transparency in the functioning of the nuclear power programme. The
Allaying fears of people about its safety Secretary Department of Atomic Energy S Banerjee said that all aspects were taken into considerations before selecting the site for the plant and it involved long technical process.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said that the safety mechanism in Jaitapur plant design is a very major step forward in view of the Fukushima accident.
Earlier, a press release issued by the government defended the decision to set up a nuclear plant at Jaitapur. It said, the site selection committee had assessed all aspects of the plant and recommended its suitability. The release said, the Jaitapur site is not considered earthquake prone and there is no fault line within 30 kms from the site.
All safety guidelines based on International Atomic Energy Agency Regulations while strictly adhered to. The release says there will be no adverse effect on environment and health of the people. The plant will have a life of 60 years.
