Changes to nuclear bill make it difficult to pin down supplier: Left

Left parties today slammed the new amendments proposed by the government in the nuclear liability bill which, according to them, would make it impossible to ascribe liability to suppliers of equipment for nuclear plants. 

"The formulation of 17 (b) proposed in the amendment is in fact worse than the provision contained in the original bill," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan, Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas and Abani Roy of the Revolutionary Socialist Party said in a statement here.

The amendments to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 proposed by the government not only goes against the grain of the crucial recommendations of the standing committee, but also seeks to further dilute the provisions of the original bill to protect the interests of the foreign suppliers of nuclear equipment and domestic private players, they said.

The Left parties said the new amendment proposed by the government would require proof that sub-standard equipment or material was "consequence of an act done with the intent to cause nuclear damage".

"With this amendment, it will become impossible to ascribe liability to the supplier," the statement said.

The Left parties said the amendment proposed by the government went against the formulation suggested by the Standing Committee, which does not require any such proof on the intent of the supplier.

They said the dubious intent of the government was further exposed by the addition of Clause 7 (1) proposed as an amendment, through which it seeks to "assume full liability for a nuclear installation not operated by it", which clearly referred to private nuclear installations.

The Left parties said the standing committee had categorically recommended "that there will be no private operator of nuclear installation".

"This paves the way for a massive subsidisation of private players in nuclear power by the government as and when they are allowed to operate," the statement said.

The Left parties accused the government of acting under pressure from foreign nuclear suppliers and domestic corporate lobbies.

"The Left Parties call upon all political parties to unitedly oppose these amendments proposed by the government to protect interests of the people and the country," the statement said.