New Delhi: Backing the nuclear liability
rules notified by the government, former Atomic Energy
Commission Anil Kakodkar on Wednesday said the measures have been
debated enough and it was time the industry moved on with it.
"This has been debated enough and we must call an end to
it," he told reporters here when asked whether he was
satisfied with the provisions of the rules.
Kakodkar, a key player in the signing of the India-US
civil nuclear agreement, had earlier expressed displeasure
over the operators right to recourse provision of the Civil
Liability for the Nuclear Damage Act passed by Parliament last
year.
"In these circumstances this is the best way," he said of
the nuclear liability rules which give operators the right to
seek compensation from suppliers for a limited period of five
years and not for the entire lifetime of a reactor.
Kakodkar pointed out that safety issues have to be
addressed at every stage of building of a nuclear plant.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has to grant
its clearance to every aspect of the design of the nuclear
plant before the construction moves on to the next stage.
A benefit of the rules is that the suppliers will also
ensure quality of the components they provide for nuclear
power plants, he said.
Experts feel that more than foreign suppliers, domestic
industry will be affected by the rules and allow the operator,
in this case NPCIL, to seek damages from manufacturers of
components.
Assocham has said India will have the toughest liability
regime and hoped that national and international suppliers
agree as rules have to imbibe the spirit of the Act.
PTI
