New Delhi: In case of a nuclear accident in India at present, the maximum fine that can be imposed by the regulator on an offending nuclear plant is Rs 500. A CAG report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, has raised concern about the weak regulatory framework in the country that could end up overlooking the potential risk of a disaster like Chernobyl or Fukushima. The CAG blamed the Centre for not learning any lessons from the Fukushima disaster as failure to have an autonomous, empowered regulator is fraught with risks. Worse, the AERB, which supervises safety issues of 22 running nuclear plants across the country, has no rule-making powers nor does it have authority of enforcement and levy of penalties. “The maximum fine (Rs 500) was too low to serve as a deterrent against such infringements,” the CAG said after a detailed audit of the regulator tasked with reviewing safety aspects of nuclear plants and radiation facilities across the country. REGULATOR UNDER SCRUTINY NO TEETH | CAG says govt has not learned from Fukushima disaster. Regulator AERB has no powers of enforcement, only prescription. In event of a disaster, maximum penalty on nuclear plant is Rs 500 NO SAFETY POLICY | No legislative framework in place after 30 years of AERB. Radiation standards not set N-Liability Act puts onus on operator for compensation New Delhi: A CAG report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, says that in case of a nuclear accident the maximum fine that can be imposed by the regulator on an offending nuclear plant is Rs 500. While this sounds grim, in reality, two recent pieces of legislation are intended to resolve precisely these lacunae. The Nuclear Liability Act passed by Parliament in May 2010 makes the operator liable to pay “no-fault” compensation of up to Rs 1,500 crore, beyond which India can access the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) for additional liability. The second piece of legislation is the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority, which has just been cleared by the Union Cabinet and will subsume the AERB. It is intended to establish an autonomous nuclear energy regulator, which will not function under the Department of Atomic Energy as the case is at present. The CAG backed its assertion quoting a recent independent investigation report on the Fukushima accident which confirmed that weak regulatory mechanism and oversight by regulators were the chief reasons behind the disaster. The performance audit of AERB was undertaken in the context of the criticality of issues relating to radiation risks and the effectiveness of the nuclear regulator in the exercise of its role. “At the policy level, AERB has not yet prepared a radiation safety policy even after three decades of its existence. Standard setting is an essential part of the functions of a regulatory authority,” the report said.