The Bill is prima facie unconstitutional and a nullity in Jurisprudence, as
there can be no such LEGAL LIMITATION on liability .The Bill also indicates
that the suppliers( Companies ) are aware of deficiencies which pose a hazard
to the lives and the environment of Indian citizens hence the lobbying for the
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 to be swiftly passed into law as
imposed by Companies , which the government is not in a position to impose as
it has lost sovereignty of independent decision making in the interest of the
citizens .I do not know how many Members of Parliament are aware of this Bill .
REMEMBER THE BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY , THE LARGEST INDUSTRIAL DISASTER IN ASIA .
Niloufer Bhagwat
----- Original Message -----
From: Sukla Sen
To: [email protected] ;
[email protected] ; [email protected] ;
[email protected] ; [email protected]
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 7:31 AM
Subject: [humanrights-movement:2318] Action Alert:
Pls.Visit<http://www.petitiononline.com/no2cap/petition.html> and Sign Up
Protest to the Prime Minister of India against �The Civil Liability for
Nuclear Damage Bill 2009�
To: Prime Minister of India
To
Dr. Manmohan Singh
The Prime Minister of India
New Delhi 110 001
Cc:
Smt. Sonia Gandhi
The Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance
New Delhi 110 001
Dated: March 07 2010
Dear Dr. Singh,
We, the undersigned, hereby express our grave concern over the recent
press reports that �The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009� is
planned to be tabled in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament and the UPA
government is apparently bent upon rushing it through without holding fair and
transparent public consultations, regardless of its profound consequences.
A quantum leap in installed capacity for nuclear power generation, from
the current level of 4,120 MW to 63,000 MW by 2032, which you have committed
yourself to, is but an invitation to disaster given the intrinsically hazardous
and potentially catastrophic nature of the industry. It is necessary to further
bear in mind that the health burden, clean-up and recovery costs for damages
arising out of any nuclear accident are irreversible in consequence and
generational in effect, poisoning not just human beings in the vicinity of a
nuclear plant but the web of life itself through air, water and soil
contamination.
Yet, pretty much shockingly, the nuclear liability bill, approved by
the Union Cabinet in last November, understandably overriding strong objections
even from two nodal ministries, viz. Finance and Environment, appears to pave
the path for the entry of private enterprises, known to cut corners to maximize
profits, not just as equipment suppliers but also as operators of nuclear power
plants.
The nuclear liability bill, as per the reports leaked in the media,
proposes to cap the total liability amount to 3 hundred million Special Drawing
Rights. This works out to just about a paltry US$ 450 million or Rs 2100 crore
per accident. We find it inconceivable and outrageous that any cap, let alone
such a meagre one, be placed on the total liability, regardless of the scale of
disaster.
Ironically, the total liability cap amount now being proposed, $450
million, is marginally less than the amount awarded in the Bhopal Gas case way
back in 1989, which was a gross under-assessment of liability even at that
time. Today, more than two decades since, and given that a major nuclear
disaster could very much dwarf the Bhopal disaster, the proposed nuclear
liability cap appears to be truly a slap in the face of the people of this
country. Further, while the supplier of nuclear equipment would enjoy standard
indemnity, the maximum liability of the operator reportedly would not exceed
the ridiculously low amount of Rs 300 crore or thereabout. In fact, it may even
be as low as Rs 100 crore. This cannot but be considered as a brazen move
towards helping profiteering corporations while penalizing the unsuspecting
Indian people, who have elected you to the office you hold.
We further draw your attention to the public statement of former
Attorney General of India, Soli Sorabjee, that putting a cap on nuclear
liability violates the very Right to Life as enshrined in Article 21 of the
Constitution.
It is shocking that a bill that compromises the Right to Life is being
pushed through without soliciting the opinion of the people of the country,
whose health and well-being, safety and human rights, and life, are being put
directly in danger.
This is just unacceptable. We strongly condemn any attempt to introduce
any caps whatsoever on nuclear liability and that too without widespread public
debate on the issues involved.
Hence we demand that the contents of the proposed nuclear liability cap
bill be disclosed forthwith to the public.
We further demand that widespread public consultations be held before
any attempt is made to introduce such profound changes in the nuclear liability
regime.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
The Protest to the Prime Minister of India against �The Civil Liability
for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009� Petition to Prime Minister of India was created
by National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements and written by Nilanjana Biswas,
Arati Chokshi, Saraswati Kavula, Anand Patwardhan, Prem Verma, Kabir Arora,
Santanu Chacraverti, S P Udayakumar, Sukla Sen ([email protected]).
Peace Is Doable
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