The victims of a nuclear accident could receive compensation within three months if the government accepts the recommendations of an Indian parliamentary panel on the nuclear liability bill.
"We have recommended that in the event of an unfortunate nuclear accident, the Claims Commissioner would be set up within 15 days and compensation would be paid within three months," T Subbirami Reddy, Chairman of the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Science and Technology, told reporters here.
Earlier, the Committee submitted to Parliament its report on the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010.
Reddy said in the event of a nuclear accident following a natural disaster or a terror attack, the government would pay
the entire compensation exempting the operator.
The Committee, which held over two dozen meetings to finalise its report, has also accepted the suggestion of some experts on creating a nuclear liability fund by charging a
nominal amount in the unit energy cost.
Creation of such a fund would reduce the government liability in the course of time, Reddy said.
He said it was proposed to charge four paise per unit of electricity generated by a nuclear power plant as a contribution to the fund.
Asked whether the move amounted to charging the customers of nuclear power for paying compensation bills in the event of an accident, Reddy replied in the negative.
He also had to face some tough questions on the reasoning behind the increase in compensation cap to Rs 1500 crore in the event of a nuclear accident.
Reddy fielded a volley of questions after he said he was "unable to understand" the reason behind the Left parties' demand to raise the cap on compensation to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 500 crore as mentioned in the Bill.
"First we had decided to raise the cap on compensation to Rs 1,000 crore but later the BJP members suggested that it be raised to Rs 1,500 crore. This was accepted unanimously," he said.
On how the liability would be worked out in case of a joint venture company involving a private sector firm as a minority partner, Reddy merely said "as of now, they (private players) are not coming for joint ventures".
He said as of now only state-run companies like National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have evinced interest in starting joint ventures with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
The Committee has suggested defining the nuclear plant operator as a central government-run corporation or entity in the Bill. It has asked the government to refer to the relevant sections of the Atomic Energy Act for the definition.
However, the Act provides for private sector
participation in setting up a nuclear power plant as a minority partner of the NPCIL. Reddy said the Committee had suggested that the operator of a nuclear power plant has to pay the compensation
upfront and settle his claims with the supplier, if any, at a later stage.
On the concerns of the Left parties, he said he was unable to comprehend their apprehensions and suggested that the dissent notes submitted by them were keeping in line with
their political ideology.
On Left parties' objection to the reference to Convention on Supplementary Compensation, Reddy said the Bill only refers to the government's intent to join the international treaty.
He said being a party to an international treaty would give India access to some international funds in case the compensation exceeds a certain amount.
Reddy said in absence of such a legislation, no country would be ready to enter into business deals with India for setting up nuclear power plants.
On liability on the part of suppliers of equipment for nuclear power plants, he said it would be the responsibility of the operator of a plant to seek compensation from the suppliers as it would be impossible for the victims to appeal
in international courts and chase them.