After agreeing with the Congress on changes in the Nuclear Liability Bill, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday opposed an amendment carried out in the final report of the Standing Committee, saying it dilutes provisions relating to supplier's obligations in case of an accident.
The party has made it clear that if the government does not drop its proposed amendment, which it considers as harmful, it would itself move an amendment. In a note to the government, the main opposition party expressed objection to the addition of the word 'and' in the proposed legislation after Clause 17(a) dealing with the right of recourse of an operator of a nuclear plant and a subsequent sub-clause that deals with the supplier's obligations in case of an accident.
Clause 17 says that "The operator of a nuclear installation shall have a right of recourse where -- (a) such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing".
The BJP contended that the "efficacy and utility of Clause 17 (b) on the supplier is completely destroyed by the supplier not agreeing to an agreement in writing. Thus, what Clause 17(b) gives as a protection to the operator, the word 'and' snatches it away".
The report of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which examined the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill 2010, recommended that Clause 17(a) which reads may end with the word 'and'.
It also proposed modification of Clause 17(b) to say "the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of latent or patent defect, supply of sub-standard material, defective equipment or services or from the gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services".
The committee also recommended that the operator "must secure his interest through appropriate provisions in the contract with the supplier".
"The inclusion of 'and' in the amended draft Bill weakens clause 17(a). It appears the word was clumsily added in the bill," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.
"Since the nuclear power plants are to be operated only by the government or government companies, it would be to our own advantage to delete the word 'and'," said the BJP note handed over to Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan by party leader Arun Jaitley.
"If the government does not agree to the demand, BJP could move an amendment when the bill comes to the Parliament in this session," Swaraj said.
Meanwhile, the Left parties objected to the clubbing of two clauses in the proposed bill, saying this was done to protect the foreign equipment suppliers from any responsibility in case of a nuclear accident.
The parties also opposed the cap of Rs 1,500 crore on the liability of a nuclear plant operator, saying it was 'hardly significant', pointing out that a nuclear accident would be much more devastating than the Bhopal gas disaster.
Top leaders of the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India Marxist, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc appealed to all political parties to reconsider their position regarding the proposed legislation as the Standing Committee's recommendations "will not substantially improve it".
Demanding that the cap should be raised to at least Rs 10,000 crore, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said "none of the international nuclear liability conventions set any cap on total liability but only set a floor level".
The clubbing of two clauses on the right of recourse of a nuclear plant operator was aimed at protecting the foreign equipment suppliers, he told reporters after a meeting of top Left leaders.
Referring to Clause 17 of the bill, he said the right of the operator to claim damages from the supplier of nuclear equipment and material (right of recourse) has "now been made entirely contingent on whether such right is explicitly provided in the private contract between the operator and supplier".
In the likely scenario of the foreign suppliers not agreeing to provide for right of recourse in the contract, they cannot be held liable for any nuclear damage, even if they have supplied defective equipment, Karat said.
"What is more dubious is that this significant weakening of Clause 17 has been done under the guise of strengthening the right of recourse against the foreign suppliers", he said.
Karat was supported by Left leaders A B Bardhan, D Raja (both CPI), Debabrate Biswas (Forward Bloc) and Abani Roy (RSP).
The government sought to allay apprehensions over certain recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the bill, saying all concerns would be addressed.
"All concerns will be addressed. Wait till the amendments are brought to Parliament," Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters.
