Nuclear Civil Liability Bill in India
UPA government is scheduled to table the bill for Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage 2010 in second half of the current session of the parliament. The bill was to be brought in right away but had to be stalled due to strong opposition. The fact is that the bill has not been cleared by the standing committee of the parliament and is reportedly being rushed to meet the requirements of the US suppliers. The Issues: The bill seeks to hold the operator of the nuclear plant solely liable for the claims in the event of any accident with capped limit of liability of Rs. 500 crores. If the claims exceed this cap the government has to step in with additional burden of maximum Rs. 2,200 crores. The time limit for liability is set at 10 years. The arguments against the bill can be grouped in three categories, namely, responsibility of operator v/s supplier of equipment, time limit of 10 years to be longer due to unknown nature of damages to even next generation caused by radiation effects and the limited amount of compensation of Rs. 500 crores. The Experience: We should be guided by the past experience on these issues. Fortunately, we have no experience of nuclear accident barring minor leakages etc. However, my mind goes to Bhopal Gas tragedy due to negligence of Union Carbide which is still reverberating for thousands of effected people even after 25 years. The lessons from this tragedy have been well documented. Nevertheless, unpreparedness of the government agencies to deal with the accident, the claims, court procedures, and endless wait for justice for decades are the highlights of this experience. The magnitude of this tragedy is comparable with leakages, failures of components etc. from nuclear plants as the gas leak of Bhopal was not less lethal. However, the nuclear tragedy may unfold even after decades and has that uncertainty of cause effect relationship for much longer duration for speedy accountability and settlement of claims.