Govt set to dilute n-liability bill thru back door?

Science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan's latest comments seem to indicate that the government is not happy about the stringent nuclear liability rules forced down its throat in the wake of the pitiful Bhopal gas disaster verdict.

Desperate to push through its nuclear energy programme, it would appear that the Indian government may try to push through back-door amendments to limit the liability of foreign suppliers in case of an accident.

Minister of state for science and technology Prithiviraj Chavan said on Sunday that India is drafting new regulations to assuage nuclear-power companies' concerns over their potential liability for accidents, in a move that is being connected with securing deals with US nuclear suppliers ahead of the visit by president Barack Obama next month, which Indian officials and media are awaiting with eager servility.

Chavan was delivering the presidential address at a function to mark the silver jubilee of the fast breeder test reactor attaining first criticality on 18 October 1985, at Kalpakkam near Chennai.

Parliament passed a law in late August that exposes to liability companies that provide nuclear reactors and other equipment for power plants, as the opposition clamoured against clauses in the law that aim to limit suppliers' liability. The opposition took heart from the outrage over the verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy, which left the perpetrators virtually untouched.

Foreign observers however say that the Indian law as amended under opposition pressure is a departure from the standard practice in most nuclear-energy markets, where all liability is channelled to plant operators.