New Delhi:
A day after NDTV reported on how the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has proposed to knock off a key clause in the Nuclear Liability Bill which dilutes the liability of suppliers for negligence, more details are emerging.
Sources in the Parliamentary Standing Committee which is examining the bill, have told NDTV that the DAE's views have not yet been accepted. A final view will only be taken after consultations with various ministries and experts.
Clause 17 b allows the operator to sue the supplier for negligence in case of a nuclear disaster, but senior officials giving the DAE's point of view say, the clause may not be in conformity with an IAEA treaty that India wants to sign. That treaty will give India access to international funds in case of a major accident.
Officials also admit that the US has raised concerns about this clause with India since their companies would be opened up to more lawsuits. If this clause goes, then the supplier is only held accountable for negligence under other existing Indian laws - not the current bill.
However experts cite the Bhopal tragedy as an example of how that simply does not work.