Nuclear liability bill referred to Parliamentary panel on science and technology

The controversial nuclear liability bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests for examination, amid expectation that it would come up in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The Committee headed by senior Congress member T Subbirami Reddy has been given two months' time to examine the Bill and report back.

The Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, which provides for payment of compensation in the event of a nuclear accident, was introduced in the Lower House amid protests and walkout by opposition NDA and Left parties which termed it as "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

Left parties had contended that Parliament has no legislative competence on the issue. 

Official sources said that the Bill has to go to this Standing Committee and not to the one on Energy as the rules of procedure make it quite clear that matters related to Atomic Energy fall under the Science and Technology Committee.

The bill, whose passage is a key requirement for operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, provides for
maximum liability of Rs 500 crore on the part of the operator
in case of a nuclear accident, a provision that has been
objected to by the NDA and Left parties.

Significantly, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Prasad, who had opposed the bill in March when the first attempt was made to introduce it, appeared to be siding with the government when it was introduced at the fag end of the last session.