The
consultation, which was organised by Human Rights Law Network,
University of Mumbai and Greenpeace
India, saw participation by lawyers, experts, academicians as well as
civil society representatives. It was stressed that the bill should
hold people more important than multinationals in terms of health,
security and environment.
Terming the bill as
denial by law to the right to seek adequate compensation in case of
a nuclear accident, people unanimously demanded that there should
be unlimited liability and it should be channelled to the entire
supply chain.
Deepika
D’Souza, Executive Director of Human Rights Law Network, said “US
Assistant secretary of State1
had mentioned that this bill will provide immunity for companies to
come and set up nuclear installations in India, but what about the
stakeholders? Who will protect them if not the bill?”
The
nuclear liability bill is currently with the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Science and Technology, which in an advertisement on
June 24 had called for wider consultations
to include public opinion on the Bill.
According
to Priya Pillai, Greenpeace Policy Analyst, “the
time and space should have been much wider than what has been
offered by Standing Committee. Fifteen days of notice is not
adequate enough for all the voices to be heard. Also, to do
adequate justice to the geographical breadth of our country the
committee should hold consultations in at least 6 key cities, as
was done in case of BT Brinjal, by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests”
"With the Bhopal gas
tragedy fresh in our minds, it is crucial for the government to
factor in unlimited liability. Also the risk should be calculated
logically and the amount of money put as compensation should mirror
it. The government cannot arbitrarily decide the compensation
amount," said Karuna Raina, Nuclear and Energy campaigner,
Greenpeace India.
The
forum also demanded that the committee visit nuclear power
plants and proposed sites and listen to voices from the people. Prof.
Suresh Mane, Head of Law department - University of Mumbai, said that
“the bill needs to be re-drafted taking into account all the matter
and issues raised by all the stakeholders in the interest of the
nation”.
The
outcomes of these
two consultations along with the roundtable earlier conducted in
Delhi will be presented to the Standing Committee.
In order to get
people's views in the foray, Greenpeace had in March 2010 launched
a petition drive asking people to register their protest with the
Prime Minister's Office. More than 5000 petitions were also faxed
to the PMO. To date almost two lakh people have signed the
petition.
Greenpeace also has the
support of 74 law outfits and associations who signed a petition
detailing the contentious clauses of the bill and Greenpeace
demands.
For further information, contact
Priya Pillai, Policy Analyst, Greenpeace India
09999357766, 
Hozefa Merchant, Media Officer, Greenpeace India
9819592410, 
Kranti L C, Human Rights Law Network
09757232347, 
Prof. Suresh Mane, Head of Law Department, University of Mumbai 9869089814
Notes to Editor
1 US Assistant Secretary of State http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article440974.ece