N-liability bill to be introduced in LS Friday

The controversial nuclear liability bill, whose passage is a key step for operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, will be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, the final day of the budget session.

New Delhi: The controversial nuclear
liability bill, whose passage is a key step for
operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, will be
introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, the final day of the
budget session.

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, which is
facing stiff resistance from BJP and Left parties, was
included in tomorrow`s revised list of business of the House
late at night.

The decision of the government came after Samajwadi Party
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Prasad met
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister P K Bansal this evening and are understood to have
given an assurance about their support on the issue.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs wrote
to the Lok Sabha Secretariat conveying the government`s
intention of introducing the nuclear liability in the Lok
Sabha tomorrow.

Earlier, the government had listed the bill for
introduction on March 15 but had to defer it at the last
moment after it realised that it did not have the requisite
numbers to see its introduction in the Lok Sabha.

The bill, providing for compensation in the case of a
nuclear accident, pegs the maximum amount of liability on the
operator at Rs 500 crore, which is the main issue of
contention.

BJP and Left parties have been questioning the cap on
compensation to be paid by the operator and have vowed to
resist it in its present form.

Government had reached out to these parties, trying to
convince them that there was no cap and the amount was
mentioned only for technical reasons to enable the operator to
get insurance cover for a nuclear plant.

However, BJP and Left parties have refused to budge.

PTI

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