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Loopholes in India’s Nuclear Liability Bill would make taxpayer pay up

the operator who in the event of a nuclear incident shall claim the insurance and leave the taxpayers on the hook for most damages, as the amount paid over and above the capped limit shall be paid by our Government. Hence, the nuclear operators actually end paying nothing………..

The dangerous leaks and lacunae in the 2010 Nuclear Liability Bill | Legal opinions, 13 Aug 2010, The new 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill is a double-edged sword full of loopholes and unanswered questions that are more likely to cut the Indian public than protect it from  nuclear disasters, argue advocates Sangmitra Sawant and Vishnu Anand. 

In view of the increasing numbers of nuclear power plants in India our government has introduced the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 proposing for the Indian nuclear industry to provide compensation and/or damages for any damage it causes to any person or property……….It is noteworthy that India is not party to any of the nuclear liability conventions……….
At present the Bill seems to be like a double edged sword for the Indian public that it claims to protect.

On the one hand it limits the amount of primary insurance that a nuclear operator must carry – i.e. Rs. 500 crore – and on the other hand it caps the liability of the operator to Rs. 500 Crore, thereby providing a clear escape route to the operator who in the event of a nuclear incident shall claim the insurance and leave the taxpayers on the hook for most damages, as the amount paid over and above the capped limit shall be paid by our Government. Hence, the nuclear operators actually end paying nothing………..

Opinion: The dangerous leaks and lacunae in the 2010 Nuclear Liability Bill | Legal opinions | Legally India – News for lawyers | Indian law firm, law school & student news and community |

August 13, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Legal | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, reactors