National groups, activists oppose move to privatize nuclear energy sector

By A Representative 

A broad coalition of organisations and prominent individuals has issued a strong statement opposing the proposed privatization of India’s nuclear energy sector, condemning the tabling of the Atomic Energy Bill, 2025 and reported amendments to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which they allege are aimed at attracting private investment into nuclear operations.

In a joint declaration, the signatories expressed serious concern that allowing private corporations to participate as designers, owners, operators or users of nuclear facilities would endanger public safety and environmental health. They argued that unlike the Government of India, private industry has no constitutionally mandated obligation to ensure public protection, raising fears of compromises in safety standards related to design, maintenance, radioactive waste management and emergency responses.

The statement asserts that the privatization push comes at a time when nuclear and environmental regulatory norms in India have been “weakened”. It notes that regulatory bodies have lost already limited powers over the past decade, citing the September 2025 removal of mandatory public consultation before mining rare earths and radioactive materials. This process, they emphasised, was critical for ensuring that local communities could voice concerns about environmental and health risks.

The signatories highlighted recent alarming findings, including scientific reports of radioactive breast milk in parts of Bihar’s Gangetic plains, reportedly linked to uranium contamination in groundwater. They warn that radioactivity persists for millions of years and that exposure results in what they describe as “slow violence” to ecosystems and human health.

The groups also pointed to the absence of global scientific consensus on safe radiation exposure limits or permanent disposal methods for nuclear waste. Citing records from 2000–2010, they noted 16 instances where private holders of radioactive sources lost control over them, with 11 never recovered by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Many of these were radiography devices used in industrial operations, reportedly linked to accidental public exposure, loss or theft.

The coalition argued that expanding private access to radioactive materials increases the risk of loss, misuse or criminal exploitation, with potential consequences for public safety. They called the government’s proposal “appalling and dangerous” and appealed to opposition parties to resist legislative changes.

Demanding what they describe as a shift from “authoritarian control” to a nuclear policy centred on transparency, public participation, and environmental protection, the signatories also sought long-term decommissioning of nuclear operations deemed hazardous for future generations.

The statement has been endorsed by numerous civil society groups including the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements (NAAM), People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), Chutka Parmanu Virodhi Sangarsh Samiti (Madhya Pradesh), Bhopal Group for Information and Action, National Alliance for People’s Movements (NAPM), National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ), Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation (JOAR), and several student, labour, environmental and human rights organisations.

Individual signatories include Vidya Dinker, Lalita Ramdas, Achin Vanaik, Cynthia Stephen, M. G. Devasahayam, Madhu Bhaduri, Binu Mathew, Rohini Hensman, Feroze Mithiborwala, Susie Tharu, Govind Kelkar, Kalyani Menon Sen, Raksha Kumar, Irfan Engineer, Pamela Phillipose, Sudhir Vombatkere, and S. P. Udayakumar, among others.

The statement concludes with a demand for the government to abandon initiatives to privatize the nuclear energy sector and to restore public accountability in nuclear policy, asserting that public safety and ecological integrity must take precedence over industrial investment.