Saturday, April 03, 2010

Nuclear liability Bill

A deeply flawed bill deferred at last minute seems to be facing further difficulties. See
India and U.S. likely to clash over nuclear liability bill by Siddharth Varadarajan, and
Design flaws in Westinghouse reactor may delay India contract.

From an earlier comment Capping nuclear liability is a non-starter by Soli J. Sorabjee, a former Attorney General for India says "There can be two views about the advantages or disadvantages of foreign investment in India in the nuclear energy sector. But there can be only one view: health well-being and protection of our people are paramount and must override dollar considerations. Foreign multinationals are not solicitors of the fundamental rights of our people. The Bhopal Gas case is a burning reminder.

Any legislation that attempts to dilute the Polluter Pays and Precautionary Principle and imposes a cap on liability is likely to be struck down as it would be in blatant defiance of the Supreme Court judgments. Moreover, it would be against the interests and the cherished fundamental right to life of the people of India whose protection should be the primary concern of any civilised democratic government."

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