New Delhi: The civil nuclear liability bill was passed by Indian parliament Monday, marking the culmination of one of the most contentious and widely debated pieces of legislation that saw prolonged discussions between the government and the opposition to ensure its smooth passage.

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, which provides for the appointment of a Claims Commissioner and the establishment of a Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, was passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote.

The bill had been passed by the Lok Sabha last week with near unanimity. The bill, among other things, raises an operator`s liability from Rs.500 crore to Rs.1,500 crore in case of a nuclear accident. The liability for each nuclear incident has been put at 300 million SDRs (Rs.2,122.40 crore).

The bill will now be sent to President Pratibha Patil for her approval, after which it will become a law.

Amendments moved by Left parties in the Rajya Sabha Monday were negatived by a voice vote. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury insisted on division on an amendment which was negatived with a margin of 123-23.

Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said the amendment had been "negatived" by a margin of 123-23 subject to corrections.

The prime minister was present in the house during the debate but did not intervene.

Replying to the over five-hour-long debate on the bill, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said the government had tried to evolve a wide consensus on the bill, which was important for meeting the energy needs of the country.

He said adequate steps will be taken to strengthen the regulatory regime concerning nuclear energy and suggestions given by the members will be kept in mind while framing rules of the legislation.

He said the government will take adequate steps to strengthen nuclear energy generation programmes.

Terming the legislation as "complicated", Chavan said the bill can be modified if there was a need to do so in the future. The minister said in the bill the liability ceiling of an operator in case of a nuclear accident was the same as in the United States.

"We will take care of suggestions of members," he said, adding that there was no finality about a legislation as it can keep evolving with time.

The minister said the bill will ensure prompt payment to victims in case of a nuclear accident.

Referring to points made by Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley, the minister said there was need of a civil liability regime for non-hazardous industries also.

He said that compensation amount in case of death in the Public Insurance Liability Act, passed after the Bhopal gas leak, was only Rs.25,000.

Disagreeing with Yechury over the cost of nuclear power, Chavan said the average tariff was comparable to any other source of power.

The minister said that the bill was not US-specific and India was in the process of acquiring reactors from other countries.

He said that a nuclear safety fund will be created by the nuclear industry.

Assuring the members that the indigenous nuclear programme was not being curtailed, he said the country had the capacity to build reactors of 500 MW capacity and was going to build 700 MW reactors.

The minister said the indigenous programme of producing 10,000 MW of nuclear power could not be fulfilled due to lack of good quality fuel. He said new sources of uranium in the country have yet not been tapped due to local and environmental factors.

The minister said that due to the Indo-US nuclear deal and subsequent steps taken, India was now free to import uranium.

He said an institute was being set up in Bhubaneshwar to meet the demand for world class nuclear scientists.

Jaitley had earlier said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will support the bill as most of its concerns have been accommodated in the 18 amendments.

The passage of the bill was seen as critical for full operationalisation of Indo-US nuclear deal.

BDST: 0925 HRS, August 31, 2010