New Delhi:
It looks like the stand-off over the Nuclear Liability Bill is over, and that it will make it through Parliament in the current Session. The government has been able to bring the BJP on board after its concerns were taken into account.
As part of the understanding, the government has promised to look at the BJP's concerns and address them. In return they will not dissent like the Left parties will do.
According to sources, Opposition members Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley along with the principal opponent of the bill, Yashwant Sinha, are meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
NDTV has learnt that in the meeting it was decided that the operator will have to sign a contract with the supplier which will take care of latent or patent defects.
Also, the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) will be removed from the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. This means, the bill won't commit to India signing an international convention, which would have given India access to international funds in case of a major accident. The Left has objected to this since the CSC would not allow a foreign supplier to be sued.
They have also agreed to increase the extinction of right to claim for any nuclear damage for a period of 20 years from 10 years.
The nuclear bill is now likely to be tabled on Wednesday.
The standing committee on science and technology, which has been studying the bill, has recommended increasing the liability cap from 500 to 1500 crores. They have also said that the operator's liability will be the supplier's liability too.
The Left has, however, given a dissent note they want the cap to be Rs 10,000 crore.
As part of the understanding, the government has promised to look at the BJP's concerns and address them. In return they will not dissent like the Left parties will do.
According to sources, Opposition members Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley along with the principal opponent of the bill, Yashwant Sinha, are meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
NDTV has learnt that in the meeting it was decided that the operator will have to sign a contract with the supplier which will take care of latent or patent defects.
Also, the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) will be removed from the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. This means, the bill won't commit to India signing an international convention, which would have given India access to international funds in case of a major accident. The Left has objected to this since the CSC would not allow a foreign supplier to be sued.
They have also agreed to increase the extinction of right to claim for any nuclear damage for a period of 20 years from 10 years.
The nuclear bill is now likely to be tabled on Wednesday.
The standing committee on science and technology, which has been studying the bill, has recommended increasing the liability cap from 500 to 1500 crores. They have also said that the operator's liability will be the supplier's liability too.
The Left has, however, given a dissent note they want the cap to be Rs 10,000 crore.
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