Nuclear suppliers let off hook: Left

Congress calls the move a policy U-turn, CPI to raise ‘lack of transparency’ in Parliament.

The old debate over whether foreign nuclear suppliers will evade liability in case of a nuclear accident has been reopened by the Union government’s decision to ratify the Convention onSUPPLIER Compensation (CSC) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Thursday.

The External Affairs Ministry called the move “a conclusive step in the addressing of issues related to civil nuclear liability in India”, adding that its explanations handed over to the U.S. government as well as the launch of a Rs.1,500-crore “insurance pool” that could be used by suppliers in the event of any incident would take care of all their concerns.

The move has been among steps that the U.S. government and private nuclear suppliers GE and Westinghouse have been demanding before they conclude any talks on setting up nuclear reactors in India after they raised concerns over two sections of the Indian law.

Ministry officials insist that the decision to ratify the CSC does not violate the domestic Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, Clauses 17(1)(B) and 46. “The government of India has maintained from the beginning that the liability solution is within the four corners of our law,” a senior official told The Hindu.

According to the understanding, the MEA has conveyed to the U.S. government, the CLNDA “permits but does not require an operator to include in the contract or exercise a right of recourse” with the supplier. In other words, India’s Nuclear Power Company (NPCIL) could, in its contract with the foreign supplier, provide an exemption to the supplier from being sued.