India’s government has placed a Nuclear Liability Bill in the Winter Session of the Parliament. The bill, going against various Supreme Court judgments, aims to put a cap on the liability amount that private companies will have to pay towards damages in the case of a leak or accident.

The bill is unconstitutional. It goes against the ‘polluter pays’ principle and the precautionary principle, and is therefore contrary to the provisions of Article 21 of the constitution, namely “Protection Of Life And Personal Liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

Greenpeace India has commissioned a report on the proposed Nuclear Liability Bill. Soli Sorabjee, previously attorney general, agrees with the campaign demand of ‘Drop The Bill’. His opinion: “In view of these Supreme Court judgments which are part of Indian jurisprudence and whose thrust is for the protection of victims of accidents as part of their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, there is no warrant or justification for capping nuclear liability, as is sought to be done. Any such move will be in defiance of the aforesaid Supreme Court judgments and will be contrary to the interest of people of India and their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.”

Sorabjee holds several offices in organizations of national and international repute. In India he is Chairman of Transparency International and Convenor of the Minority Rights Group. On the international circuit, he is Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights Commission since 1997, a member of the United Nations Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities since 1998. Sorabjee served as member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. In 2002, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his defence of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights.

All of this is happening 25 years after the Bhopal Gas tragedy. The survivors and the people impacted by the slow poisoning of the chemicals left at the plant site are still fighting for justice and the companies involved are evading liability. With nuclear plants, the dangers are graver and thus to pass a bill that caps liabilities is bordering on the ludicrous.

Currently American plants are at the planning stages. Westinghouse and GE hope to construct their nuclear site in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. If the suppliers and designers do not take financial responsibility in case of an accident only the operator, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, is left to pay this huge amount. The Bhopal tragedy’s cost was more than $3 billion.

The movement has snowballed and more and more lawyers and politicians are endorsing Greenpeace India’s demand of dropping the bill. Hopefully, India will follow the right way and do away with introduction of this partial regime!

(This post is by Orsi Kralik, nuclear campaign blogger for Greenpeace India)