Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan today has tabled the controversial Nuclear Liability. It is likely to be passed as government has agreed to drop the intent clause which says that the nuclear suppliers are only liable if they intend to cause nuclear damage.
There was intense debate and speculation over as to how will the suppliers of nuclear equipment be liable to pay up if there is a nuclear disaster.
With India likely to order over two dozen nuclear plants, the world waits eagerly to see what condition India sets as it will set the standard for the rest of the world in the future.
Earlier, the opposition parties rejected the earlier version because it said that suppliers will not be liable unless the supplier signs a special agreement with the operator in India which makes the supplier liable.
The Opposition says most suppliers won`t sign any special one-to-one agreement and therefore they will escape any liability.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan in an earlier interview said, "The Opposition has raised valid objections."
There is also confusion over whether there is any cap on liability for suppliers. While the bill doesn`t mention any, legal experts say that in effect the Rs1,500 crore cap on operators will be the cap on suppliers, as only the operator can ask the supplier to pay damages and the operator cannot ask for more than their own cap of Rs1,500 crore.
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