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Editorial Posted On Thursday, March 18, 2010 | After the euphoria over the Women's Reservation Bill going through the Rajya Sabha in early March, the Government is facing some spirited opposition from the BJP and the leftists, but expects to go ahead with the Nuclear Liability Bill this summer or this year to give a push to the India-US civilian nuclear cooperation. But is still possible that the American made nuclear plants would be delayed slightly? Possibly.
Although there was a whip for the ruling party Congress MPs in place from March 12 until March 15, they apparently did not abide by it and 35 members, including some Ministers are likely to receive notices for absence from the Lok Sabha. The whip was not applicable to the United Progressive Alliance and Ms. Mamta Banerjee's Trinamool Congress did not feel obliged to line up its 20 odd members behind the Government. It has been pointed out that there was a sort of disconnect between the government and the party apparatus over the Nuclear Liability Bill.
The Prime Minister and his National Security Adviser reached out to the leaders of Opposition to secure the support of the BJP to the Bill, but there was no support forthcoming. The result was that in the absence of numbers, the Government had to beat a hasty retreat and postpone the introduction of the Bill to possibly early May after the Budget has been passed.
The Opposition is unhappy that the liability is being placed entirely on the operator of the nuclear plants and this means the Nuclear Power Corporation, a public sector entity and the Government itself and not on the suppliers of the nuclear power plants. The liability is also being kept down to Rs. 300 crores in case of a nuclear accident even though it is many times more in several other countries, according to the BJP.
Russia is in any case going ahead with the construction of two big nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu. During the March 11 visit, Mr. Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, agreed on a roadmap to build four atomic power plants with capacities of 1,600 MW each.
France has already reached agreements with India to build nuclear power plants in India and India-France cooperation in this area is strong and flourishing. France is one country in the world which relies mainly on nuclear energy for its electricity supply, going as high as 80 per cent to meet its power needs. Its safety record is known to be impeccable. At one time it was envisaged that the Russian nuclear power plants would incorporate French safety devices, but it is possible that Russia might have independently acquired some features of French technology and enhanced its own research in the area of safety.
Although the US meets 27 per cent of its electricity needs from nuclear power, it has had to slow down its activity over the past 30 years because of the One Mile accident. But in view of global warming and climate concerns, America has decided to resume its nuclear energy processes, build plants and tap the relatively clean energy. But the US and a number of countries around the world, including India, use nuclear devices in a variety of civilian spheres, which include medicine and agriculture.
The landmark India-US 123 agreement, subsequently approved by the International Atomic Energy Authority as well as the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and Indian Parliament, became a benchmark for the rest of the world, especially 45 countries of the NSG, to open up to India. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, used a substantial amount of his political and diplomatic capital, to push through the pact and broad-base India's energy sources from the conventional petroleum and coal to newer and cleaner resources, expensive though these might well be.
The Prime Minister is going to the US next month and would have liked to take with him the assurance that he had taken some more steps to "operationalize" the 123 nuclear pacts. The US also sees India as a good market for its nuclear power plant makers, who include some multinations. But it appears that Dr. Mamohan Singh will have to wait a little more time before the nuclear liability could become an Indian law. Parliament's Budget Session has gone into recess and will be resumed after four weeks on April 12. But the Government's focus will have to be on getting the Budget fully approved by the end of April or in the first two or three days of May.
During the recess, the Standing Committees will discuss the departmental allocations, but key Ministries like Home and Defence are bound to be debated in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as some other before a guillotine on the demands for grants could be applied. For the present, the Government has to rest assured that the vote on account has been done before the recess so that the new financial year spending is permitted from April without any hindrance, though initial allocations will not be excessive, but the vital ones.
Even as the BJP and the leftist parties went along with the Government over the Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha and gave near full support to it after the forcible eviction of seven angry members, questions are being raised in all political quarters whether the celebration of the 100th Women's Day should have been marked by such strong action, which impacts the majesty of the parliamentary forum and reflects not too well on India's own democratic processes. Has it given a jolt to the ruling party and United Progressive Alliance and its agenda to serve the people fair and square?
Lalit Sethi, NPA
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Friday, September 03, 2010