The financial express
India’s public sector nuclear power generators could find themselves on an unequal footing with builders of nuclear reactors, as the onus of any nuclear accident will fall solely on these PSUs and the government.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2009 introduced in Parliament recently, allows private suppliers of equipment and project contractors to go scot-free in case of nuclear mishaps. For public sector Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd looking at the business opportunities in nuclear power generation, the proposed discriminatory policy is a dampener.
With India planning to increase its nuclear power generation from the present 4,120 mw to 60,000 mw by 2030, the market is wide open for international players. It is estimated that the country would need about 50 to 60 new nuclear power plants, each costing $4-5 billion in capital investments. The potential of the nuclear market in India is estimated at $200-250 billion.
Most foreign companies which are keen to explore opportunities for the supply of nuclear reactors and other equipment in the proposed addition have already made a strong pitch for India joining the international convention on civil liability. Areva, GE, Westinghouse and Rosatom Corp have been talking to NPCIL as well as various private sector companies such as Tata Power, Reliance Power and GMR.
The Bill seeks to fix the maximum financial liability of the operator at Rs 500 crore. If the damage is assessed to be more than this amount, the additional money has to be provided for by the government up to a maximum of 300 million special drawing rights (about Rs 2,200 crore). SDR is the monetary unit of IMF’s reserve assets and represents potential claims on the currencies of the IMF members. A victim can make a claim only till ten years from the date of the accident .
Apart from the uneven distribution of liability arising from mishaps, the Bill is also criticised for the insufficiency of the compensation amount. Analysts say that Rs 500 crore is too small an amount in the event of a very big nuclear accident. A similar law in the US has set the financial liability for such accidents at $10.5 billion.
However, in fixing this figure, the government seems to have been guided by two things. First, this figure is in line with the maximum liability defined in most other countries. Second, the government has been.
By Huma Siddiqui
No comments:
Post a Comment