The nuclear liability bill is important for operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal, as it sets the protocol in case of a nuclear accident at any of the sites for private nuclear plants.
The new-found bonhomie between the government and the main opposition party over the women’s reservation bill will not last long as the BJP has decided to oppose the nuclear liability bill, which is to come up before Parliament next week.
The nuclear liability bill is important for operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal, as it sets the protocol in case of a nuclear accident at any of the sites for private nuclear plants.
Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj told DNA that the party had made up its mind on the matter. “National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon had met with leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and his deputy SS Ahluwalia a few weeks back and was informed of our stand,” she said. This will be bad news for the government which is desperate to get the bill cleared in Parliament without delay.
The bill was cleared by the Union cabinet last November, and the prime minister had also called on senior BJP leaders recently to seek their backing.
But the bill, according to Swaraj, seeks to cap the liability of private service providers in case of accidents to a “measly” Rs500 crore. “There are two models of this bill on fixing liabilities. One in which the government bears the liability for any damages due to accidents and another in which the service provider is held liable.
The last is applicable in the United States, which the government of India says it is following. Our objection is that while the liability cap in the US is as high Rs70,000 crore, the bill here caps it at Rs500 crore,” she said. “This means not only will our people suffer if there is an accident, but most of the compensation may well come out of the tax-payer’s pocket.”
“We don’t think the Bill will get cleared since neither the BJP nor the Left is in favour of it,” she said.
Top sources in the government have confirmed that the government’s bill provides for the setting up of arbitration commissions for compensation in case of nuclear accidents, which will have judicial powers. “The country will be divided into zones and each zone will have a commission,” an official said. “The bill is necessary because it will also enable us to access an international fund in case the damage exceeds the cap on compensation,” added the source.
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