Nuclear liability bill will be reworked

The civil nuclear liability bill will be rewritten, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the government was ready to discuss deficiencies in the legislation that could not be introduced in Parliament because of the opposition’s protests. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Padma awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the PM also said the government had an open mind on the issue, strongly signalling the government’s desire to accommodate concerns about the bill, which has been portrayed as a means to help US nuclear suppliers. “It should go to the standing committee where all possible divergence of opinion can be resolved,” Singh said. His remarks tied in with strong indications that the government has veered around to appreciate the necessity to “fix” the bill which is now seen as full of ambiguities—an infirmity which has reinforced misgivings about the legislation. Sources indicated that one possible change could be revision of the formulation which gives the impression that all liabilities are to be paid by the operator. Since it will be a while before the private sector is let in to operate nuclear power plants, the draft has been interpreted as saddling the government with the entire liability, letting international suppliers off the hook. Another change in the offing will relate to the Rs 500 crore that has been proposed as the no-fault liability of the operator. The government recognises that the amount, thanks to weak drafting, has been misconstrued as cap on the operator’s obligation to the victims of nuclear accident, leading critics to accuse the government of putting a lower price on an Indian life. Sources were at pains to emphasise that the bill provides for no cap on liability and that the amount in question only represents the liability of operator at this point in time. They said it is up to Parliament to scale up the amount if it so wishes. However, to cushion the bill against criticism, the government is now ready—as suggested by former attorney general Soli J Sorabjee—to state so up front. The decision to re-work the bill comes in the wake of the opposition’s determination—partly motivated by partisan pique—to block the legislation, as well as the Congress leadership’s suggestion to “go slow” to dodge any perception of eagerness to help the US. Sources stressed that the bill was neither US-specific nor was it conceived because of pressure in the wake of the civil nuclear deal. Pointing out that it was conceived in 2000 under the NDA government and largely because of Russia’s concerns over liability in Kudankulam plants, sources argued that the legislation was necessary because of the absence of any law to deal with nuclear damage. The lacuna, felt after the Bhopal gas disaster, looks even glaring because of the decision to ramp up nuclear power production. As it plans to reach out to opposition parties for their consent to introduce the bill before it is sent to the standing committee, the government stresses that the bill enjoins the state to pay Rs 2,334 crore (300 million SDRs), in addition to Rs 500 crore by the operator straightaway to the victims, without making them go through the torment of cumbersome legal process and without having to establish negligence or guilt. It also allows victims to take legal recourse to seek compensation under civil or criminal justice. The operator can seek relief from its suppliers: in this case international nuclear companies.
PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said it was “too premature” to consider the dilution of the quantum of reservation in the women’s quota bill even as the government moved to call an all-party meeting on April 5 to discuss the law. The bill, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha in the midst of the marshalling out of seven MPs, has to be passed by the Lok Sabha as well. While Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is committed to its enactment and the bill is supported by the Left and the BJP, Congress managers are wary of stiff resistance from Yadav leaders Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad.