The Nuclear Liability Bill: Pros & Cons

Its brouhaha time again on the nuclear issue. This time on the Nuclear Liability Bill. India has obtained the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG)’s waiver on resuming nuclear commerce in the civilian sector. Bilateral agreements with prospective trading countries are being reached at. The UPA government has already signed deals with the USA, Russia, France, UK, Canada. Negotiations are in progress with other nations as well. Overseas firms dealing in nuclear energy from the nations mentioned above have obvious interests in doing business in India but with limited liability.

They are expected to invest in the nuclear sector, bring in technology and commission power plants. The question that has been the bone of contention is whether these foreign entities should also bear the liabilities in case of nuclear accidents.

Nuclear experts in support of the deal argue that nuclear energy is the most sustainable option in the long-term and has much lower carbon footprint as well. It is perhaps the only effective way to deal with India’s burgeoning demand for power. This has also been the conviction of the present UPA government in Delhi.

Now that several of these power plants will eventually come up across the country, concerns are being raised on the potential risks of nuclear energy. One can possibly argue, given that they are managed well, nuclear power plants are one of the safest ways to produce power for human consumption.

However, even with all the rationales in favour, the question that has caused all the recent brouhaha among the political parties is that of nuclear liability. Now with President Obama’s impending visit, the central government seems to push for the legislation of the liability bill in a hurry, that is what the opposition seem to allege.

In retrospect, India’s report card on management of industrial disasters has not been great. As we still struggle to fix the liabilities for Bhopal even 20 years later, the same has in fact continued to haunt us as we decide on the nuclear issue. The overseas firms, having stakes in the expanding nuclear infrastructure, would obviously wish to see provisions for limited legislated liabilities in the event of a nuclear disaster.

So the pertinent issue here is how do we strike a balance between perceived bottle necks and ensuring accountability.