Modified N-liability bill to advance suppliers?

New Delhi, Aug 22: According the modified Nuclear liability bill, suppliers will be liable only if they cause an incident intentionally, sources said.

According the sources, now Clause 17(b) of the bill depicts, the right to recourse where "the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employees, done with the intent to cause nuclear damage, and such act includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or sub-standard services."

The new amended Nuclear Liability bill may face fresh trouble in the parliament.

The sources said, the cabinet's version has done effectively, is that one would have to prove that there was an intent on part of the supplier to willfully cause damage, which makes it much more difficult to hold them liable, in case of an accident.

"When we had discussed this with Pranab Mukherjee, we had made our position clear that suppliers and operators must be made liable, and liability should not be capped," said CPI's National Secretary, D Raja.

He also added, "Government should draw lessons from the Bhopal experience, it cannot play with the life of the people. This position is being taken with huge risk to public security, and the government should realize this."

BJP leaders also informed that they are waiting for the government to submit the Bill cleared by the Cabinet, to the Opposition.

Any change in the clauses that dilute the suppliers' liability as adopted by the Standing Committee will be unacceptable, claimed the BJP leader.

OneIndia News