Outrageous: The civil liablity for Nuclear Damage bill.
I am now beginning to understand why the Indo-US Nuclear deal signed more than a year ago was touted as being "Historic". It is very much in line with India's Colonially oppressed history. Much like the British East-India company,the Portugese,The Dutch and The French agencies which came to do business in the country it aims to give the 'locals' as little as possible while protecting their own national interests or companies whose balance sheets contribute to the coffers of their country.
The motive behind the bill is to legally and financially bind the operator and the government to provide relief to the affected population in case of a nuclear accident.Sounds convincing? Yes it does until you discover that the operator will be a government run entity called NPCIL with 26% foreign stakeholding and the rest with the government and moreover the cap on liability of the foreign company is 500 crores which needs to be claimed by the operator in case of a nuclear disaster. Together with the government, the lives of all those who die or are affected in the event of a nuclear tragedy will cost only around Rs.2300 crore.
Rs.500 crores is only about $110 million at today's foreign exchange rates. So the firm registered in the United States,which will earn a few billion dollars by constructing nuclear power plants, stands to lose only a meagre amount in the event of the death of a few thousand Indians. It makes very good business sense for the firm which will win the contract, since a similar damage in his own country will cost him a little over 23 times the amount he would have to pay in India.
Approximately 4000 people died in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the Chernobyl Nuclear Disasters respectively, not to mention the lakhs of people that were affected. Hypothethically assuming that about 5000 people die in the event of a nuclear accident and around 45000 people are affected, thats 5000000000/50000 = Rs 100000 per person. Thats the liability of the operator. The rest of the money will come from the Indian government at that time, which has the easiest option of securing the requisite amount of compensation with generous contributions to the Prime Minister's relief fund or as a percentage of tax from the rest of the grieving Indians , who will grieve not only the death of their fellow countrymen but also grieve the demise of an India which would have by then made vast improvements to bridge the gap from a developing nation to a developed nation.
That's what the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is about. It's a deal between the United States government and the civilians of this country brokered by the Indian Government.There is a popular quip that the government has not learnt from the Bhopal gas tragedy, but it seems like at least one government has! R.I.P (rest in peace) to those who may be affected by a nuclear accident and TTD( taxed to death) for the (un)lucky survivors.
The motive behind the bill is to legally and financially bind the operator and the government to provide relief to the affected population in case of a nuclear accident.Sounds convincing? Yes it does until you discover that the operator will be a government run entity called NPCIL with 26% foreign stakeholding and the rest with the government and moreover the cap on liability of the foreign company is 500 crores which needs to be claimed by the operator in case of a nuclear disaster. Together with the government, the lives of all those who die or are affected in the event of a nuclear tragedy will cost only around Rs.2300 crore.
Rs.500 crores is only about $110 million at today's foreign exchange rates. So the firm registered in the United States,which will earn a few billion dollars by constructing nuclear power plants, stands to lose only a meagre amount in the event of the death of a few thousand Indians. It makes very good business sense for the firm which will win the contract, since a similar damage in his own country will cost him a little over 23 times the amount he would have to pay in India.
Approximately 4000 people died in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the Chernobyl Nuclear Disasters respectively, not to mention the lakhs of people that were affected. Hypothethically assuming that about 5000 people die in the event of a nuclear accident and around 45000 people are affected, thats 5000000000/50000 = Rs 100000 per person. Thats the liability of the operator. The rest of the money will come from the Indian government at that time, which has the easiest option of securing the requisite amount of compensation with generous contributions to the Prime Minister's relief fund or as a percentage of tax from the rest of the grieving Indians , who will grieve not only the death of their fellow countrymen but also grieve the demise of an India which would have by then made vast improvements to bridge the gap from a developing nation to a developed nation.
That's what the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is about. It's a deal between the United States government and the civilians of this country brokered by the Indian Government.There is a popular quip that the government has not learnt from the Bhopal gas tragedy, but it seems like at least one government has! R.I.P (rest in peace) to those who may be affected by a nuclear accident and TTD( taxed to death) for the (un)lucky survivors.
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