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Nuclear Bill mocks India and Indians Saturday, March 20, 2010 New Delhi Swarn Kumar Anand
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, on which UPA-II was forced to beat temporary retreat this week, threatens to expose the people of India to a thousand Bhopals. A Saturday Special focus
The country is haunted by the introduction of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009, which has raised the spectre of a repeat of Bhopal 1984. The Bill, an important step in the implementation of the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, has certain clauses which indirectly let US manufacturers and plant builders off the hook from financial and legal liabilities for nuclear accidents caused on Indian soil.
In its present form, the Bill raises grave suspicions in the minds of the public whether its purpose is only to protect foreign companies from liabilities. Though the government denies this charge and claims that it has no intention to amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 that bars foreign firms from operating in India, its pushing for a paltry liability of Rs 500 crore ($110) on the operator, is a giveaway. As the country has set an ambitious target of increasing the installed capacity of nuclear power by 60,000 MW by 2030, it is unimaginable that foreign private players would not lobby for slices of the multi-billion dollar Indian nuclear market.
The government argues that this liability regime envisages a three-tier compensation regime: the operator's liability limited to Rs 500 crore, and the government's at Rs 2,087 crore. The third tier is the funds that India would get once it signs the Convention for Supplementary Compensation (CSC: $450 million). However, the CSC is contentious and not legally enforceable. Moreover, the ratification of CSE by India would open the floodgates for US firms to enter India .
The government's position that the Bill is in synchronisation with international best practices appears fallacious. Contrary to claims by the government and backers of the Bill, the Vienna Convention does not cap nuclear liability for damage, but only puts a minimum floor. The US has economic channelling of liability providing for civil law suits against every party, including suppliers. The Price Anderson Act of the US provides $10.2 billion in cover without cost to the public or government and without fault needing to be proven. In India , however, the US is pushing for legal channelling of liability which would help private US firms to go scot free. Further, Clause 17 of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 does not allow the operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers.
The liability regimes in European countries are far more comprehensive. Germany has unlimited operator liability for damage and requires EUR 2.5 billion security which must be provided by the operator for each plant. Switzerland asks plant operators to insure EUR 600 million, and has proposed to increase this amount to EUR 1.1 billion after the ratification of the Paris and Brussels conventions. So is the case in Finland, which requires operators to take at least EUR 700 million insurance cover, and operator liability is unlimited beyond EUR 1.5 billion provided under the Brussels Convention. Sweden 's Nuclear Liability Act requires operators to be insured for at least EUR 302 million, and above this amount the government covers EUR 1 billion per incident. The Czech Republic is moving towards ratifying the amendment to the Vienna Convention, and in 2009 it increased the mandatory minimum insurance cover required for each reactor to CZK 8 billion (EUR 296 million). In Japan , nuclear plant operator's liability is exclusive and absolute. It is planning to double the operator's liability to $ 1.2 billion this year.
Another pestering provision in the Bill is Clause 18 that limits the time to make a claim to 10 years. This is totally unreasonable, as nuclear damage involves changes in DNAs resulting in mutagenic and teratogenic changes, which take a long time to manifest. Moreover, Clause 35 states that the operator or the responsible persons in case of a nuclear accident would face trial under the Nuclear Damage Claims Commissions and no civil court is given the authority.
For a country which has yet not come out of the horror of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Bill raises collective anxiety for lack of provisions for criminal liability. Private firms like GE and Toshiba Westinghouse would not be able invest until India ratifies the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSCNL) and installs a domestic civilian nuclear liability regime, as the US companies want no part of the liabilities arising out of a Bhopal-like disaster. In the Bhopal case, the operator and manufacturer, Union Carbide, had to cough up $ 470 million. Still, according to one estimate, it amounted to just Rs 3.5 per day per person over the 19 years since the incident occurred. The initial official death toll was 3,000 which rose to about 15,000 later; while the number of permanently disabled people was 50,000.
A nuclear disaster would have wider and far-reaching negative consequences than Bhopal , and yet the Bill fixes the upper limit at $458 million. It is morally reprehensible how the government drafted such a Bill even though the risks from nuclear energy cannot be capped. On a request by Greenpeace India for a legal opinion, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said: "There is no warrant or justification for capping nuclear liability. Any such move will be in defiance of Supreme Court judgments and will be contrary to the interest of people of India and their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution."
Moreover, the Bill does not require India 's nuclear industry and the government to publish and disclose any information relevant to nuclear risk. This is ominous as the non-independence of the regulatory board always downplays the risk of operating a nuclear plant in India . In the past, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board made all efforts to downplay nuclear accidents, whether it has been the November 2009 heavy water drinking incident in Kaiga or the collapse of the inner containment dome of Kaiga on May 13, 1994.
Understandably, the entire Opposition and the Congress' biggest partner in UPA-2, the Trinamool Congress, have protested this Bill. If it is allowed to pass, it would pave the way for private participation in nuclear industry as operator, giving them free hand to cut production capital at the cost of safety. In such a scenario, the common Indian taxpayers would end up paying compensation to themselves with their own monies for disasters caused by the negligence of private foreign firms. Profiteering capitalists would go scot free with their interests intact.
The irony of the fact is that the nuclear industry is lobbying to cut its losses in the event of such a calamity.
Private industries, including domestic ones, want the business, but don't want to bear the risks, while and the Indian nuclear establishment wants the technology, even if it means exposing Indians to the risk of being hurt by a nuclear disaster. To add salt to wound, the government wants its citizens to be happy with pittance in the event of the next Bhopal .
-- The writer is Deputy News Editor, The Pioneer
The Nuclear Deal with America is nothing but Israeli/Zionist conspiracy to ruin India with the help of defecto Prime Minister Zionist Christian Sonia Gandhi of India. It is very strange why the Indians are trusting Israelis who have brought a super power America on its knees; financially, economically, ethically, morally and militarily and made America its second colony after Palestine . Truth is Israelis have made China a very serious threat to India by selling them advanced Satellite and Missiles technology after stealing it from their colony America . Israeli's have crippled Indian defense research by corrupting Indian politicians, top military brass and businessmen. Israelis were behind all the bribes to get Nuclear Deal passed in Parliament; which was nothing but a sell off for India to the Zionist by Pro Zionist BJP & Sonia's Congress. Then India is knowingly subsidizing Free Arms to Pakistan as US Aid by buying arms from Israeli colony America . About 10,000 Zionist control America representing the 2% Jew population of USA . They control Judiciary, big law firms besides Media, Hollywood , Banking, Real Estate, Universities, Schools and Politics of America. 45 Zionist are in US Congress; 13 Senators & 32 House Representatives serving the interest of world's most racist organization AIPAC made up of Zionist Bankers, Media & other big businesses with loyalties to Israel are controlling US Congress and President. Zionist have made America another Israeli colony after Palestine . Every American politicians including President Obama can drop their pants and skirts when they see an Israeli/Jew before any one can blink their eyes. When they open up their mouth they talk about Jews and Israel only. In USA no new Power Plant has been erected after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. One can imagine the expertise of Zionist Controlled US Nuclear Power Industry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident STOP NUCLEAR DISASTER IN INDIA Dear Every one: Indian government is churning out one hazardous bill after another. This time it is a bill called the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, and it's coming up for a vote in a couple of days.
The bill lets Zionist controlled U.S. corporations off the hook for any nuclear accidents they cause on Indian soil. They'd only have to pay a meagre amount, and Indian taxpayers would be stuck paying crores for the nuclear clean up and to compensate the victims.
Without any public debate, the Prime Minister is appeasing Zionist America's interests and ignoring the safety of Indians.
Greenpeace is launching a petition asking the PM to hold a public consultation before introducing the bill.
I have already signed this petition. Can you join me?
http://www.greenpeace.org/india/stop-the-vote
Thanks!
Israeli Bribes to BJP & Congress killed India's Defense Research http://www.flickr.com/photos/37407895@N02/4323200601/ | 
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