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| Industry, activists want higher N-liability cap |
| Sanjay Jog / Mumbai Jul 18, 2010, 00:50 IST |
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Industry bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are making a case for increasing the present Rs 500 crore (about $110 million) cap on the liability stipulated in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010.
NGOs, including Greenpeace, want the German model — which calls for unlimited operator liability and requires €2,500 million security to be provided by the operator for each plant — to be followed. The security is partly covered by insurance.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) declined to comment on their recommendations to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests, chaired by Congress Member of Parliament T Subbarami Reddy, examining the Bill. The committee has invited suggestions and objections till July 9.
The committee, which visited several nuclear plants across the country, has requested former chairmen of the Atomic Energy Commission to depose before it on July 21. On July 22, the committee will discuss clause-wise suggestions and objections and prepare its report.
Sources in the know told Business Standard that CII wanted the government to make the liability amount flexible. The industry body also wants the definition of nuclear damage to be redefined and made specific. Ficci, according to sources, wants the basis for damages in leakages and accidents to be statutorily fixed, taking into consideration the nature of damages inflicted, the consequences thereof and the ability and capacity of the party to pay.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, or Assocham, has called for a provision in the Bill which allows and entitles victims for higher compensation from a higher court. It has also proposed that the government may consider provisions for cost overruns due to regulatory delays.
Learning its lesson from the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Congress, according to sources, is also seeking a higher liability cap. The cap put on the liability of the operator is Rs 500 crore while the overall financial liability for a nuclear accident is capped around Rs 2,140 crore. Any amount to be paid above this cap would be footed by the government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which blames the Congress-led UPA government for doing little for Bhopal gas victims, is demanding that the Bill to be scrapped. It has alleged that the Bill is to please the US.
The CPI(Marxist) believes the liability cap has been limited to Rs 500 crore as the government wants to bring in private operators in the nuclear sector. The party alleges in this manner, the government will subsidise private operators, including foreign companies.
According to CPI(M), a nuclear accident may involve casualties on a much larger scale than the Bhopal tragedy. Given that a nuclear accident can cause damage in billions, the cap of Rs 2,140 crore proposed showed the scant regard the government had for Indian lives, it said.
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