Greenpeace for unlimited compensation cap in nuclear bill
August 18th, 2010 - 12:10 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Environmental organisation Greenpeace Wednesday asked opposition parties in parliament to not settle at a compensation cap of Rs.1,500 crore in case of an accident as proposed in the civil nuclear liability bill.
“There should not be any cap on accidental compensation. Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was opposing it but now they have agreed on Rs.1,500 crore. We are appealing to all the parties to oppose any cap on accidental damage in the bill,” said a Greenpeace activist.
Ending weeks of impasse over the contentious civil nuclear liability bill, the BJP Tuesday indicated its willingness to accept the trebling of compensation in case of an accident to Rs.1,500 crore.
The parliamentary standing committee on science and technology looking into the bill Tuesday finalised its report which recommends raising of the compensation cap from Rs.500 crore, as provided in the earlier draft, to Rs.1,500 crore or “such other enhanced amount notified by the government from time to time”, a well-placed source said.
The report is to be tabled in parliament Wednesday.
With a view to fast-tracking the passage of the legislation in the ongoing monsoon session of parliament, the Congress called for forging consensus on the bill, a pre-requisite for implementing the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal.
The BJP, which had earlier resisted any mention of a cap in the proposed legislation, appeared to have settled for the revised amount because of the provision for a further hike through a government notification if required.
The Left parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Forward Bloc, still have some reservations about the legislation and are likely to oppose it when it is introduced in parliament, which could happen later this week.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, was introduced in the budget session of parliament. It was later referred to the standing committee.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is keen to get the legislation passed before US President Barack Obama arrives here in November for talks, during which the two leaders are expected to review the progress on the nuclear deal.
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- Near unanimous Lok Sabha nod to n-liability bill (Roundup) - Aug 25, 2010
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- Nuclear bill report in parliament Wednesday, BJP positive (Lead) - Aug 17, 2010
- N-bill report tabled, opposition claims Congress-BJP trade-off (Lead) - Aug 18, 2010
- Parliament disrupted as government prepares to table n-bill report - Aug 18, 2010
- N-liability bill tabled in Lok Sabha, opposition walks out (Roundup) - May 07, 2010
- Cabinet to discuss nuclear bill changes Friday - Aug 19, 2010
- BJP sees positive government signals on n-liability bill - Aug 17, 2010
- Government to table nuclear bill amid fierce opposition - Mar 15, 2010
- Nuclear bill report to be tabled Wednesday - Aug 13, 2010
- No let up in opposition to nuclear liability bill - Apr 10, 2010
Tags: accidental damage, bharatiya janata party, bjp, budget session, civil liability, communist party of india, communist party of india marxist, crore, environmental organisation, forward bloc, government notification, greenpeace activist, left parties, liability bill, monsoon session, nuclear damage, nuclear deal, nuclear liability, opposition parties, parliamentary standing committee