Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) With the opposition fiercely pitted against the nuclear liability bill, the government has denied any US pressure to push the legislation. The bill, sources said, has been designed to strike a fine balance between the interests of the victims of a potential nuclear accident and the security of investors.
The bill incorporates the best practices in other countries and international nuclear liability regimes, well placed sources familiar with government thinking, said.

The government denies that the legislation has been done under American pressure and was conceptualized much before the 2005 India-US civil nuclear deal with a view to ramp up nuclear energy production in the country. It has been in the making for the last 10 years, the sources said.

The bill, said sources, caps the liability of the operator at Rs.500 crore, but there are provisions within the legislation that allow the government to scale up liability and take over the responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the victims.

India plans to scale up its nuclear energy production from the current 4,100 MW to 20,000 MW by 2020 and take it further to 40,000 MW by 2035.

To achieve these targets, it is necessary to instil confidence in potential investors in the civil nuclear industry to save them from financially ruinous consequences of unlimited liability in the case of a nuclear accident.

Given the fierce opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties, the government Monday decided against moving the contentious Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill in the Lok Sabha.

The bill also envisages the setting up of a commission to investigate an accident and fix the responsibility.

The passing of the bill in parliament is a crucial step that India is required to take under the 123 agreement with the US.