Ready to discuss 'deficiencies' in Nuclear Bill, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government had an ‘open mind’ on the nuclear liability Bill and was ready to discuss any “deficiencies” in the proposed legislation facing stiff opposition from the BJP and the Left parties.

He said the Bill would be introduced in Parliament and it could be referred to Standing Committee where “divergent opinions” could be addressed. “We will present it to Parliament. It should go to the Parliamentary Standing Committee where all divergent opinions can be resolved,” Singh told reporters when asked about the fate of the contentious Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.

The Bill, whose passage is crucial for operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, was to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 15 but the government decided against it at the last moment in view of stiff opposition by the BJP and the Left, who are opposed to the clause for capping of liability on operator at Rs 500 crore.

“We have an open mind. If there are some deficiencies, we will discuss,” the PM said on the sidelines of a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan for presentation of Padma Awards.

Meanwhile, government sources said the cap of liability could be enhanced and that the amount was specified in the Bill only to enable an operator to get insurance cover which cannot be taken if no amount is mentioned.

The sources said the Bill provided for ‘No fault liability’ that would make it mandatory for the operator to pay immediate relief to the victims.

A clear procedure is also laid down on how to get the compensation. This has been done against the backdrop of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in which the victims are still waiting to get compensation.

The Bill also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount of liability of any operator. Seeking to allay apprehensions, sources said the Bill did not take away any rights provided under law and needed to be looked at as an additionality. The Bill also did not in any way dilute criminal liability of the operator.