New Delhi
15 March 2010
The "Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010" has been 10 years in the
making. Its genesis can be traced back to 1999-2000 when India was in talks with Russia
for the nuclear power plants at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Around the same time, the
Board of Research in Nuclear Studies, which comes under the Department of Atomic
Energy, thought of a study of nuclear liability regimes worldwide. VB Coutinho of
Government Law College, Bengaluru and S Rajagopal of National Institute of Advanced
Studies, Bengaluru were tasked to prepare the report, which subsequently was
submitted in November 2001.
The draft Bill, when it becomes an Act, will plug the gap or lacuna in Indian law, because
there is no legal framework to deal with nuclear-accident claims. The Atomic Energy Act
of 1962 is silent on compensation for victims of nuclear accidents. Further, India is not
party to any of four international conventions currently in vogue.
Learning from the experience of Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the draft Bill provides for
prompt compensation while ensuring that it does not have provisions which can impose
financially debilitating claims on an operator, forcing it into bankruptcy. It seeks to guard
against prolonged litigation as in the case of the Bhopal tragedy or delayed redressal of
claims by fixing liability exclusively on the operator and providing for a competent court
to adjudicate claims.
Liability of operator of a nuclear installation will be Rs 500 crore. In India today, under
the Atomic Energy Act of 1962, only Government of India or its public sector units (PSUs)
can operate a nuclear installation. Therefore, there are only two operators in India today.
They are National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya
Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI).
In France, liability is capped at Rs 575 crore; it is Rs 331 crore in Canada and Rs 202
crore in China. In the US, private companies have to make an annual contribution
towards a 10 billion-dollar corpus.
The draft Bill also says the government may either increase or decrease the liability of
operator. If decreased, the liability of operator shall not be less than Rs 100 crore. Also,
maximum amount of liability is the Rupee equivalent of 300 million special drawing
rights (SDRs) as determined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government can appoint one or more Claims Commissioners for the area suffering
nuclear damage or where necessary, by notification, establish a Nuclear Damage Claims
Commission. The Claims Commissioner shall dispose of an application within three
months from its receipt and make an award accordingly.
// Salient features of "Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010": //
- Liability of operator of a nuclear installation is Rs 500 crore. (In India today, under the
Atomic Energy Act of 1962, only Government of India or its Public Sector Units (PSUs)
can operate a nuclear installation. Therefore, there are only two operators in India today.
They are National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya
Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI).)
- Government of India may, by notification, either increase or decrease the liability of
operator
- If decreased, the liability of operator shall not be less than Rs 100 crore
- Maximum amount of liability is the Rupee equivalent of 300 million special drawing
rights (SDRs) as determined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- operator shall take out insurance policy
- operator not liable for any damage caused by natural disaster of exceptional character,
armed conflict, hostility, civil war, insurrection or terrorism
- Government of India shall, by notification, appoint one or more claims commissioners
for area suffering nuclear damage or where necessary, by notification, establish a
Nuclear Damage Claims Commission
- application for compensation before the Claims Commissioner shall be made within a
period of three years from the date of knowledge of nuclear damage by the person
suffering such damage
- The Claims Commissioner shall dispose of the application within a period of three
months from the date of such receipt and make an award accordingly
- Every award shall be final
- The right to claim compensation shall extinguish if such claim is not made within 10
years from the date of incident notified
- The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board shall, within 15 days from the date of occurrence
of a nuclear incident, notify such nuclear incident
- Operator shall have a right of recourse where -- (a) such right is expressly provided for
in a contract in writing; (b) the nuclear incident has resulted from the wilful act or gross
negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services, or of his
employee; (c) the nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission
of a person with the intent to cause nuclear damage.
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