Par panel to suggest Rs 1,000 cr cap in N-liability Bill

The Parliamentary Committee examining the Nuclear Liability Bill is set to recommend doubling the cap on compensation from Rs 500 crore in case of a nuclear accident and insist on liability on suppliers of equipment to atomic power plants.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology and Environment and Forests today wound up gathering of evidence on the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 introduced in the Lok Sabha amid stiff resistance from a united Opposition.

The committee is also likely to suggest extending the period of victims claiming damages from the current upto 10 years from the time of a nuclear incident to over 15 years.

Clause 18 of the Bill states that the right to claim compensation for any damage caused by a nuclear incident shall extinguish if such a claim is not made within a period of 10 years from the date of the mishap.

Rajendra Badwe, director of the Tata Memorial Centre appeared before the Committee today and is understood to have told the members that the full effects of cancer caused due to exposure to radiation take 10-15 years to be known.