Little Himalayan kingdom of Nepal gearing to go nuclear

Recent discovery of ‘highest-grade’ uranium deposits in the Upper Mustang regions seems to have prompted the lawmakers in endorsing the nuclear bill, allowing uranium mining, enrichment, import, and export permissible in Nepal  

New Delhi: In a major development that is set to galvanize geopolitics in and around Nepal, the country is one step away from embracing nuclear technology and research.

All eyes of the world are on the Nepalese Parliament as it will soon contemplate creating the first-ever law of Kathmandu on the safe and peaceful use of nuclear and radioactive materials in its land.

It seems that the recent discovery of uranium deposits in the Upper Mustang regions of Kathmandu, has prompted the lawmakers in resurrecting the – Safe and Peaceful Use of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, 2075 – bill. 

On 1 January, Giriraj Mani Pokharel, the Nepalese Minister of Education, Science and Technology had presented the bill to the parliamentary panel through the House of Representatives (HoR) for clause-wise discussion. 

The HoR, rejecting objections from other members, accepted the bill, which will be now placed before the Parliament for enactment.  

In attempts to support the bill through a detailed report, the committee held around 14 meetings on various occasions, lasting for more than 22 hours deliberating every clause.  On 5 January, the HoR submitted the report – Safe and Peaceful Use of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, 2019 – to the Nepalese Parliament. 

“The report is supplementary to the bill. Thus, it was submitted by the committee almost after a month’s time to the Parliamentary Secretariat (PS). The bill will now be up for discussion in the House and this report will help in guiding the decision towards enactment,” a senior government official told The News21. 

Kathmandu had signed the Nuclear weapons Prohibition Treaty in September 2017, during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. Prior to this, in July 2008, Nepal had already registered itself as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

However, even after being drafted in 2011 by the Parliament, the bill was registered with the PS in December 2019 by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. 

As per the signed international accords, Kathmandu is not eligible to purchase any nuclear technology, without enacting a law. The bill states that there will be a regulation to license institutions that work on technology related to nuclear power. 

The license cannot be transferred to others. The bill also states that, if raw material for producing nuclear energy is found within the territory of Nepal, it will be the government’s property. 

Also according to the bill, if someone without a license misuses technology related to nuclear and radioactive power and kills someone, the person will be jailed for life. If someone injures another by misusing the technology, s/he will be fined seven to 12 lakh rupees and be slapped five to 10 years imprisonment, the bill states.

In 2019, Member of Parliament proposed 17 amendments to the Safe and Peaceful Use of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials bill.

The nuclear bill would make uranium mining, enrichment, import, and export permissible and establish Nepal as a place where nuclear and radioactive substances could be stored. It would allow uranium enrichment facilities as well as nuclear research reactors (NRRs), which produce neutrons from enriched uranium to be used in medicine, industry, and other research, but restricting Kathmandu from generating power.

Crucial for Nepal’s Health Sector 

According to former bureaucrats, requesting anonymity, the – Safe and Peaceful Use of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, 2075 – the bill is very crucial for Nepal’s health sector. 

“We lack the power to use high capacity technology with the advancement of nuclear and radioactive power in the health sector. If this bill is passed, the government will be in power to import this technology,” a former Nepalese diplomat said.

Citing one such immediate use, the officer pointed at the radioactive technology for cancer treatment. 

Lack of awareness around the prognosis of the disease remains to be one of the most significant challenges related to cancer in Nepal. This results in significant delays in bringing patients to hospitals, and high rates of advanced-stage cancers and mortality.

Also, with a per capita income of only $1,034, the majority of Nepalis struggle to afford expensive cancer treatments, which individuals have to finance in the absence of a proper health insurance system. 

“Every year, hundreds of Nepali cancer patients, in severe stages of the disease, visit Indian hospitals for treatment. This bill can bring affordable technology to detect and combat cancer, close to their homes. Nepal can import such technology from India. Nepali cancer patients will not have to travel to New Delhi for treatment,” pointed the former diplomat. 

Nepal Struck Uranium in 2014

Government reports indicate that a ground radiometric survey revealed a huge deposit of uranium ore in Nepal’s Upper Mustang region in 2014.

The Upper Mustang, formerly the elusive Kingdom of Lo, is pocketed into the Himalayas right at Nepal’s northern border with Bhutan. Regarded as one of the most remote and isolated areas of the world, the Mustang region accounts for more than 15 percent of Kathmandu’s glacier cover. 

The IAEA confirmed that a uranium deposit of the ‘highest-grade’ is spread across the 10-kilometer-long, 3-kilometer-wide region.

However, with no law governing uranium extraction or nuclear technology use in Nepal. In the absence of such legislation, the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government has no means to carry out either its extraction.

“This gap might motivate the government to endorse the bill,” an analyst remarked.