India Inc on Tuesday expressed deep reservations over the supplier liability provision -- the contentious Clause 17(b) -- in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill, 2010, saying it would seriously hinder nuclear commerce.
Facing stiff opposition over the Nuclear Liability Bill, the government on Friday said it will consult all political parties before tabling the draft legislation in Parliament. "
What is in store for the Koodankulam nuclear power plants, asks S P Udayakumar.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology T Subbirami Reddy on Friday voiced confidence that the report on the nuclear liability bill will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, despite differences among members.
As a Parliamentary panel races to submit its report on the nuclear liability bill, Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have dug its heels asking the government to clarify whether the draft legislation was India-specific or being enacted to fulfil requirements of international treaties.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which has held marathon deliberations on the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, is expected to present its report to Parliament on August 9.
The Parliamentary panel examining the controversial nuclear liability bill is expected to finalise its report in time for introduction of the draft legislation during the monsoon session beginning July 26. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests is examining the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 7 amid stiff resistance from a united Opposition.
Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley talks to Aditi Phadnis about the party's differences with the government
Greenpeace has also launched a petition addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which the organisation claims has been signed by over 21,000 people.
The passing of the nuclear liability bill will be a political and diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a time when he is being seen as getting weaker and his government is drifting on all major national challenges like price rise, Kashmir and Naxalism.
Gopal Krishna makes a case against the nuclear liability bill.
Getting the requisite numbers to pass the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha may be the least of the United Progressive Alliance's problems. Lawyers and legal experts, including those who support the legislation, say there are many instances of poor drafting and anomalies that have the potential to generate more controversy if the Bill is passed in its current form.
United States Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer on Monday called on Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari and is understood to have discussed the nuclear liability bill, which is being opposed by the party. Sources said Roemer called on Gadkari to discuss the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill and allay apprehensions expressed by the BJP about the proposed legislation. BJP is opposing the Bill.
In the second part of a three-part series, Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell, in an Observer Research Foundation study, discuss at length the various loopholes in the Nuclear Liability Bill, whose amended version was recently passed by the Lok Sabha.
While the cap on liability is lower than in several other countries, few producers, including those in India, will supply nuclear power equipment without such a bill -- raising the caps is an obvious solution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties have already indicated opposition to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill that is key to operationalise the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. The Bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.
"What is the need for such a legislation if the public sector and the government will be the only nuclear operators? What is the purpose of this law or of putting a cap on compensation if it is the government which has to pay?" a senior BJP MP said.The BJP fears that once this Bill is passed the government may allow private players later by effecting an amendment only regarding entry of private operators while leaving the Rs 500 crore compensation cap intact.
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